


43VER THE FLAW

by Ariellookingbitch



Category: B.A.P, GOT7, K-pop, SHINee, VIXX
Genre: Dreams, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friendship, Love Triangles, Romance, Rookies, SHINee - Freeform, Young Love, k-pop bands, traniees
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-20
Updated: 2016-11-16
Packaged: 2017-12-29 21:54:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 38
Words: 73,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1010556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ariellookingbitch/pseuds/Ariellookingbitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>43VER THE FLAW is a new kind of kpop band.</p>
<p>Why? because they arn't Korean.</p>
<p>This story follows these two American girls trying to make it as Korean idols.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mic checks, Overlays, Record Deals and Parents

 

Amaya Serene, and Aleera Elizabeth. Amaya: Seen by all others as ' _flawless_ , _beautiful, gorgeous and talented_.' But she doesn't see that when she looks in the mirror. She sees that she's not tall, but not too short. Five foot four, not a bad height. Her hair is long. The way she likes it. It's all the way down to her stomach. The long under-layer and her slanted bangs are always changing color, her constant way of making her self feel interesting. Her eyes are pretty enough, she'd suppose. But they bore her and she forever wishes she could be flawless. Or even beautiful, or gorgeous. Although she knows she's talented. She knows she'll forever be flawed. She's too open and constantly being hurt, her heart is constantly torn to shreds, and she can't ever see herself as others do. Insecurity: something, almost, only she could play off adorably.

Aleera: Another girl seen as _gorgeous and talented_. Another girl who doesn't see it when she looks into the mirror. She sees the short girl, only standing five foot tall. Medium length, naturally, blonde hair, and it's styled to look pleasing. Blue eyes. Pretty enough. But boring, unlike the contacts and makeup she shrouds them in. She doesn't see the stunning features that others so bluntly exclaim she holds in her face. She doesn't see this talent others say she possesses. She sees the girl who tries so hard to succeed, and always just falls a little behind her best friend. She too feels as though she'll forever be flawed. Shy and insecure. And only a tad slow: something, almost, only she could play off adorably.

These two have known each other for long. Going back to when they were little tots, they've grown up together almost like sisters, and share a close intimacy seemingly only siblings could possess. They were thrown together like this from the closeness of their parents and began to share everything, their birthday, their clothes, their hopes, and eventually even shared a roof. And began to share a dream. They found Amaya's angelic high voice and Aleera's touching low voice fit like two puzzle pieces, along with their styles, of music and fashion.

October 18. There's no mistake. The two of them being born on that date, is only what one would call fate. From that one day, those two girls became connected, and those two girls began to care for one another, pick them up when the other was down. Jump for the other's joy, cry for the other's sadness. From that day they became a pair. And they became inseparable.

Fate had more in its plan it would seem, because they began to fall in love with kpop and on their 16th birthday they became a part of SM entertainment USA. And it was when they were nearing 18 that fate's true design was finally shown.

On the morning of August 18th bright rays of golden sunshine poured through the blinds of a small, messy, white room. Brightly colored clothes were scattered accross the floor, a neon blue bass was mounted on the plain walls next to a neon green electric fender guitar. A black amp, splattered in paint, sat on the floor between them. The owner laid, asleep, in the big bed that was situated underneath the window with the sun leaking blinds. Her multi-colored hair was situated like sleeping beauty, which she strongly resembled. Until she groaned. Her head reflexively moved to her right to try to avoid the sun while her left hand raised to attempt to block it while her eyes fluttered open.

Her pink lips parted in a yawn and her head began to roll to the right. “It's too damn early... for it to be this bright.” she mumbled to herself. Her eyes glanced towards the digital clock on her black and neon paint-splattered bedside table.

She blinked looking at the time. Then blinked again. There was no way.

She rubbed her eyes and then jumped out of bed and scrambled to put on clothes. Denim shorts, black bra, black tank top, neon blue v-neck. “Socks. I need socks...” she scrambled to her dresser pulling out the first pair she touched. She laughed at the snowflakes till she looked at the clock again.

She scrambled to her bedroom door attempting not to trip. She took a deep breath.

“ ** _Lee!_** ” She screamed, “ ** _We're late!_** ” she slid into the living room and scooped up her skate shoes.

She threw them on her feet and ran for her skateboard hoping on it immediately and skating to Lee's bedroom door. She pounded on the door three times.

“ ** _Gurl! You best hurry up! We've got to go. We were supposed to start recording at 11!_** ” She glanced at the clock on the ring on her left middle finger. 11:23. She gulped.

Only one thought crossed her mind. _We're dead._

On the other side of the door Lee jumped from Amaya's pounding on the door. She heard the yelling, something about being late, she thought. Her blue eyes rolled back and she began to lay back into her bed when she caught a glance of the clock.

Her blue eyes widened at the sight of the red numbers on the screen. 11:24. It blinked evilly at her. “Oh. _Shit!_ ” She yelled at herself as she ran to the closet throwing on clothes. Black shorts, white bra, black tank top, and red cropped shirt. She frantically looked around for her shoes.

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw her black and red flats. They would do. With the shoes already on her feet, she grabbed her skateboard and ran out to the door of her room to see Amaya jump back to avoid being run over. “ ** _Oh my god, Maya!_** ” she yelled, jumping back herself, “You know better than to stand in front of my door. You scared the crap outta me!”

Maya blinked her hazel-green eyes at her and gave her a half shrug. “Well, we're late this calls for drastic measures. Even if that means standing in front of your door.” she grabbed Lee's skateboard and placed it on the ground, “just get on. It'd be faster if we just skate out of the house, Mom just let the dogs out so the door's open anyway. We have about 15 seconds till she closes it again. Go.” she said pushing off on her board with as much force as possible to make her go fast.

“ ** _Coming through!_** ” She yelled, doing an ollie out of the door and onto the side walk. She pushed off and zoomed into the street knowing that Lee must be in toe. “Lee. This will be our fastest ride yet. You best push with all you've got.” And with that she pushed again to accelerate her speed and close the gap between her and SM Entertainment USA head corders and recording studio.

As Maya had suspected lee was not far behind. She too was pushing with all her might to close the gap and soon she rode neck and neck with Maya, who grinned at the sight of Lee next to her. No more than 10 minutes of ferocious pushing and weaving through people like crazy, they saw the building in front of them.

“Thank god we're here!” Lee exclaimed. Maya giggled and signaled the door man to open both the big doors. They both grinned and did an ollie into the building.

“Well. At least we're on the first floor today!” Maya laughed turning a corner and stopping her skateboard outside their recording room door. They both kicked their skateboards into their hands and Maya gulped as she opened the door. “Prepare for hell” She whispered to Lee as she stepped into the door to be greeted with their two managers. Mr and Mrs Tsuki glared at them with an intensity worse than that of their own parents. Hye Mi had replaced her normal sweet and loving smile for a cold menacing glare. Her husband, Akki Ho, had also replaced his normal smile for something cold, a piercing scowl. Lee and Maya gulped glancing at each other and then running directly into the recording booth. Maya picked up a bass and tossed Lee the drumsticks. “We best start recording this fast, we have to record the bass, drums, guitar, keyboard and vocals today, we also have to practice dancing while singing, I suggest we start quick to avoid the scolding we might receive from the Tsuki's later.” She whispered putting on the studio head phones and plugging in the bass to the already powered amp. She plucked the g-string. “test.” she spoke into the studio microphone.

“Checked.” Came Hye mi's cold voice. Amaya gulped.

“We're ready to record when you are.” Amaya replied softy.

“We were ready an half hour ago.” Akki Ho flatly stated.

“Start.” Hye mi's voice sounded in their headphones. Maya looked to Lee to start the beat.

Lee nodded. And clicked her drumsticks together, maya waited for her 'one, two, one two three four!' but instead she just started drumming and Maya had to quickly start in on the bass. Mr and Mrs Tsuki smiled on the other side of the sound proof glass, the music on their side played more quietly but it was the exact sound playing from inside the booth as well. Hye mi was grinning and she turned to her husband, “Should we tell them the SM korea agents are going to be here today?”

Akki Ho shook his head, “I don't think so, they play better when they aren't nervous and if they found out it would make them more than nervous and it might screw up their chance to go to Korea like they dreamed,” his gaze turned back to inside the booth where the girls were playing their little broken hearts out. “today, could be the day their dreams and ours come true, we always wanted to be able to go back to Korea and manage from there, with our little house that's waiting” He said with a soft smile. Hye mi's face lit up as she smiled back at him and nodded.

They finished the first overlay of the song and Lee sighed and rubbed her head. “I feel like I'm doing something wrong? Something just doesn't sound right..” she half muttered looking at maya to see if she noticed the difference as well. Maya smiled at her,

“Nawh, it was my fault. I was a little thrown off because you didn't do the 'one two three's' but it's fine, I came in with the bass anyway. And I know it sounds weird, it's because this is just the beat overlay, we still have to add guitar and keyboard next overlay and then do just our voices. And don't worry about the one two three's We can add them in this overlay.” She said smiling. She put down the bass and picked up the guitar. She motioned to Mr and Mrs Tsuki to start the beat track they just recorded. She took a deep breath and placed her fingers on the guitar, gripping her pic and looking at Lee. “One two.. **ONE TWO THREE FOUR!** ” She yelled starting on the second instrumental overlay with the guitar and keyboard. She ginned at Lee to reassure her her keyboard playing was right half way through the song and they both grinned at each other when they finished.

Outside the booth two Korean agents were watching the girls play while questioning the Tsukis.

“They're instrumentalists?” they asked in Korean. Hye Mi laughed, “Not quite, just keep watching and you'll see.” she responded in her own fluent Korean while Akki ho grinned next to her.

“Nice job, girls. Ready to record the vocals?” his voice sounded through the headphones. Both girls gave him a thumbs up as Maya put away the guitar and Lee walked toward the microphones.

“Mic check girls!” Hye Mi's sunny voice rang through their head phones. Maya smiled.

“Check!” she screamed into the microphone grinning as they winced at the loudness of her voice.

“O.K. Amaya's mic works.” Akki Ho said rubbing his ears. Maya giggled. And looked at Lee who grinned. 'doo it' maya mouthed. And Lee suppressed a laugh and took a deep breath.

“I'm sexy and I know it. Do do do do do do doo do do do do do do doo” She sang laughing at the end. Hye mi raised an eyebrow,

“Well, Aleera's works too.”

The girls grinned at each other and looked at the people outside of the booth to start the track and soon enough Amaya was projecting her angelic voice and pouring out her soul while Aleera did the same. Her own sweet low voice caressing Amaya's in a perfect blend. And in the perfect style to capture the korean agents' attention.

They stared at the girls their mouths slightly agape from surprise, the two agents exchanged a knowing glance and one whispered about how it was what they were looking for in korean. They turned to the Tsukis. “How old are they?”

Akki Ho replied, “17, sir.”

Both the agents and the Tsukis turned back to the girls who were putting away their microphones.

“How do you think we did?” Lee asked Maya, who grinned in return.

“Great, I think we did really great, Do you want to go down to the studio and dance?” she asked grinning, “Wait. Don't answer! We're going!” she giggled, grabbing Lee's hand and pulling her out of the booth. She stopped just short of her managers and the agents. “Can we go practice dancing now?” she asked innocently with a grin.

Then her eyes widened as see saw the korean agents. “Oh how rude of me!” she exclaimed. “Jwe-song-hagm-nida! Ahn-nyong-ha-se-yo!” She said sweetly, bowing her head as a sign of respect. She stood up straight again and smiled at her managers waiting for their answer. They both nodded and Maya scooped up her skateboard, handed Lee her skateboard and then grabbed Lee's other hand pulling her out the door and toward the dance studio.

Lee sighed as they approached the door of the dance studio. “Soo..” she started, “Do you have any ideas of what the dance will be like today?” She finished looking at Maya while they took off their shoes and began to stretch on the bar. Maya let out a giggle.

“Do I ever have any idea's Lee? We always just freestyle and then toss out what we don't like.” She smiled as the agents and Akki Ho walked in and stood by the wall ready to watch them dance.

Hye Mi smiled at them and waved a CD. She walked to the stereo system and popped it in,”Girls this does have your voices, but they're muted so you need to sing while you dance, you need to practice it anyway”. The girls nodded and got into their usual starting positions. Their backs faced the mirror as though the mirror was the crowd, since they like to watch themselves dance.

They had already worked on the choreography for about half of the dance at home so they grinned at finally being able to work it out in the studio. They nodded at Hye mi to start the CD and she complied.

_One. Two. ONE TWO THREE FOUR!_

The sound of Amaya's recorded count rang through out the room and both girls turned and began their dance. Amaya was the first who had to sing and she surprised even herself by how clear and unfaltering her own voice rang while dancing. Next Lee surprised herself as well with her clear voice.

In the back of the room the Korean Agents exchanged knowing glances, and asked Hye Mi to turn off the music. The music stopped and the girls froze, lost their balance and fell over laughing.

“Why'd you stop the music, music?” Maya sang looking at the group of adults in the back.

“We'd like to take you to conference room 303.” The korean agents spoke in perfect english. The girls exchanged a glance got up and followed them to the elevator.

Once everyone was seated in the conference room the agents began to speak.

“Today we had originally come to evaluate Mr and Mrs, Tsuki because we were looking for more staff for SM korea,” They started, the girls exchanged a glance and Hye Mi and Akki Ho grinned,”But, upon our evaluation we realized that all of you are truly what SM entertainment needs. So, we want you to fly to Korea and sign a contract with us.”

Amaya bit her lip and looked at Lee. “That's our dream, honestly and truly, but we both have very overbearing parents, so we wont be able to leave until we're 18, but we both turn 18 in exactly two months. Can you wait that long?”

“October 18th, thats when i'll schedule your flights then. As for your managers,” the agent started, “We'd like for you to be on a flight tonight so you can get all of the girl's living arrangements finished with.” the other finished.

We all nodded and grinned at each other. “You're all dismissed.”

And with that the girls went to the elevator and rode out of the building. As they exited the building both girls were grinning from ear to ear and Lee even jumped off her skateboard in excitement, “ ** _YEAH!_** ” she screamed, “We made it! We're going to korea!”

Maya laughed at her containing her own excitement. Both girls thoughts were going in hyper mode thinking about how they are getting to fulfill their life long dream with each other. They thought they were over the moon two months ago when they met 2PM, but no. That doesn't even compare now.

Then both of their faces fell. The same thought crossing their minds. Lee sat on the ground with the thought ringing in her mind. _What about my parents? What will they say?_

Maya did the opposite. She shook it out and stood tall. She looked down at Lee and pulled her up. “We'll be eighteen Lee, they wont be able to say no.” Maya pushed off on her skateboard and Lee followed behind.

After about 15 minutes they reached home, the big house that used to be a condo. The house their parents decided they all might as well share. Maya kicked the skateboard into her hand and opened the door. “We're home!” she yelled into the house placing her board by the door and walking to the living room. “We need to talk!” She yelled again. She made her way to the couch plopped down and kicked off her shoes. “You comin' lee?” she asked looking at the door.

Lee sighed, nodded and walked in. Maya looked at her puzzled and tried to maintain a straight face. Lee was shaking. She was _shaking!_ Her nerves were skyrocketing through the roof with the thought of their parents saying it wasn't their decision. While Maya was the exact opposite. She was confident, for once, and she was going to simply tell them if they don't like it they can suck it up, because at 18 she's legally an adult and can legally decide for herself. Lee was now seated on the couch opposite from her, she was tense. Very tense. And her gaze turned to Maya.

“Maybe they aren't home yet... I think they're still at work,” she sighed, “I hate waiting. It gets my nerves all screwed up and....ugh!” she half fumed. Her gaze shifted to the clock. _5, already?_

Maya let out a giggle. “You're just one bundle of nerves, ain't ya, Leera?” she grinned, “They're home. They got off at 4:30 today. They just need reminding.” Her grin widened, “ ** _Maaaaaa! Daaad! Everyone!_** ” She yelled wiggling her nose at the delay of response. And then smiling as they walked into the living room. “Oh good. You're alive. We've got some important news.”

Maya's parents entered the room first, her mother raised her eyebrow and her father shook his head. “It must be really important if you're grinning like that.” Her mother said as she gracefully sat on the couch next to her husband.

Next came Lee's mother who looked at the girls quizzically, her apron still on and a wooden spoon in her hand. “What's so important to take me from my cooking?” she jokingly asked. Lee smiled nervously and pointed at maya.

“She's better at explaining things than me!” she said. Maya shot her the death glare then turned her attention to the parents looking at her.

“Well, it's pretty simple. You all know how we are signed at SM entertainment USA. And you all know how and why we signed there.” She paused and took a deep breath, “Because our dream is to perform in Korea, and sign with them there. Today, we received that choice.” she looked at their parents who were about to interrupt so she cut them off as quick as possible, “We know how you feel about it so we decided that we will wait to sign until our birthday. So there is no arguing the point and we would just like you to know we are leaving. That is all!” she said jumping up, pulling lee up and running into her room. She closed the door shut behind them and let out a huge sigh. Then turned to lee.

“I can't believe you did that!” she growled, “i always have to explain everything!” her growl turned into a laugh, “you know I wont always be able to save your butt in interviews.”

Lee nodded, “Well. Until then..” She patted Maya's shoulder, “You're explaining everything.” She ginned and plopped onto Maya's bed with a sigh. “I can't believe we're really going to Korea.” She smiled, “who knew it would all come true?” She laid down on the bed reaching her hands above her head looked at the ceiling. “What do you think we'll do first when we get there, Maya?” her head turned to her friend who grinned and flopped onto the bed next to her.

“I dono about you, Lee,” She grinned, “But I'm thinking of going ' _sightseeing_ ' and I don't mean the Han river.” She giggled. “but they'll probably take us to sign our contracts first thing, then to the SM apartments where we get to decorate our loft or half a loft or whatever they give us.”

“It would be awesome if we could get a whole loft to ourselves,” she laughed, “now that would be amazing.” she smiled closing her eyes and envisioning “their loft” in her mind, “everything could be stainless steel, and my room could be red, black and white,” her smile parted and she let a sigh escape her lips, “The dream life...” her voice trailed off all soft and dreamy, then she smiled and turned back to Maya. “What do you think it'd look like?”

“Me?” she grinned, “Why, my dearest Lee, I'd say you took the image right out of my mind, stainless steel everywhere.” she looked at lee and raised her arms to the celling making a rectangle with her hands, “Picture this. You walk in to our living room; a two couches, black of course and totally our style, there's also a little black bed-type seat in the corner, black and stainless steel lamp, white carpet, one black and grey rug, a little black coffee table, and of course decorations and a black entertainment system. The back wall is entirely windows, with a beautiful view. You turn a corner and you see our stainless steel, glass, and black dinning set, oh and we aren't on carpet anymore, it simply must be smooth white floors, and if you continue you get to the all stainless steel and white kitchen, oh and like I said before the entire back of the open part of the loft is huge windows so you can see EVERYTHING. Then of course if you walk into the closed rooms of the flat you'll find our dance practice room, the walls are grey and there's black hardwood floors. One of the walls in completely covered in mirrors from ceiling to floor, and of course there is amazing lighting. Then there's another room off to it's self it's completely padded, like a huge bed! And the walls are some type of electronic green screen where you can put whatever you want on it for meditation, and in one of the corners is a floor to ceiling bookcase, with a ladder of course. Our bathrooms are huge, and look like some kind of a spa house, and of course you have your red and black room, and I have my black room with neon paint splattered everywhere and a perfectly white bed.” she looked at Lee and giggled. “What? Too detailed?”

Lee laughed, “No. I just think you're thinking about it too much. Did you have this planed out before or what?” she sighed, sat up, rubbed her head and let out a groan. “Stupid headache.. I wish it would go away..” she mumbled, then she looked at Maya again, “Do you think we'll have to drop out of school after we sign the contract?”

Maya shook her head, “no way. We'll probably just go to the same school the other sm artists do, and we'll be 'home schooled' when on tour.” she grabbed Lee's arm and pulled her down on the bed. “Lets sleep. I know you have a headache and I know you do NOT want to have to walk all the way across the house to get to your room.” Maya crawled under the blankets and motioned for lee to do the same patting the pillows next to her. “come on. Our brains need the rest.”

Lee nodded in response and climbed in bed next to her. Their heads hit the pillows and they were out.


	2. Deathtraps and Dance Numbers

Lee grinned putting on the outfit she had just bought from the mall yesterday. She stood in front of the full length mirror on the back of her door and ran her fingers along the seam of her tunic.

It was strapless, red, and could probably also be classified as a very short dress. It was belted with a simple black buckle belt. She wore leather skinny jeans underneath it and on her feet was a beautiful pair of stiletto lace up red boots. She grinned at her reflection and turned around to beam at Amaya.

She stood in front of Lee's closet mirror fingering the edges of her dress. Her dress was also strapless but it was black and covered brilliant neon paint splatters which were highlighted even more by the bright turquoise triple buckle belt she wore above her waist. Underneath her brightly splattered dress she wore razored black skinny jeans. And her entire outfit was topped by her healed white scrunch boots that were, of course, splattered with neon paint.

Lee's face fell slightly at the sight of Amaya, she felt that Maya was glowing and something just wasn't right on herself. “Maya, I feel like something is missing.”

Maya turned around and beamed at her friend's appearance. “Lee. What could possibly be missing? You look amazing. Just perfect for today!” She hugged lee and then glanced at the time. 9:55. “Well, I hope you're ready. Because they're picking us up in 5 minutes!” she grinned, “i've got to go get my bags!” And with that Maya rushed out of the room and into her own to lug her suitcases out by the door.

Soon enough the black SM car pulled up front and the girls were beginning to lug their suitcases out. With the help of their driver all their suitcases were stuffed in the trunk in a jiffy. Ten minutes later they were pulling up in front of the SM Entertainment USA building. Aleera looked up at it sadly and breathed out a sigh. “This is the last time we will see this building for a long time,” she looked at Amaya who nodded in response.

“Yup. It will be wont it?” she looked back at Lee and grabbed her hand, “Oh well! No need to be sad now. Lets go!” she dragged Lee inside and into the same conference room they were in just two months ago. Already seated were the girls parents, Akki Ho, Hye Mi, the Korean agents who discovered them, and all of their drivers. Maya smiled, let go of Lee's hand and bowed in respect while lee smiled timidly, waved, and said a quiet “hello.”

After the girls seated them selves next to their parents, Akki ho began his spiel on how magnificent the SM apartments were, how they'd still attend school and blah blah blah.

Here and there Lee, Maya and their parents asked random questions. And of course received random answers in return.

They would attend the same school as all the other SM artists did, it was a private and very good art school.

To their father's happiness, there would not be boys on the same floor as their daughters.

To their mother's delight they would be well fed and Akki Ho and Hye Mi will treat them like their own and constantly check up on them.

And to the girl's delight, SM apartments housed ALL Sm artists, and they would get an entire loft to themselves, which Hye Mi helped design with them in mind.

Before they knew it the Lee and Maya we're being rushed out of the room, stuffed into a car, zoomed to the airport, had passports and tickets shoved in their arms only to be then scooted through airport security and thrown on a plane.

Only THEN to be told they were in the wrong section. But that was alright, because they were moved to first class where they were finally able to sit comfortably. Well as comfortably as you can be when you're itching to get to a country as fast as possible.

When they were finally situated on the plane and it took off Maya was practically glued to the window and trying to get the best of the first class service while Lee took the exact opposite route. She was NOT having fun with the height. At all. She was attempting to do everything in her power to not even THINK about looking out the window.

Therefore she read. Then read some more. Then blasted music out in her ears and constantly checked the time. Then when there were only a few hours left she decided to poke maya. Constantly.

She looked over at her, clearly slightly annoyed from being taken away from the clouds that she was finding shapes in. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to keep myself from looking out the window.” she shrugged.

“Well poking me, who is looking _directly_ out of the window isn't going to help you much” She laughed which soon turned into a glare seeing as how lee was still poking her, “Stop that!” she tuned the window again and made a pouty face, “you made me loose the bunny on a motorcycle..” she mumbled as Lee leaned back in the chair and decided to sleep away her boredom and anxiety as well as the remainder of the flight.

Maya looked back at her and smiled slightly, “sleep is a good idea.” she mumbled snuggling up in her chair as well. Soon enough both girls were crashed and being prodded awake because they had landed.

Maya smiled rubbed her eyes and calmly unbuckled her seatbelt, while Lee on the other hand grinned ripped her seatbelt off and flew out of her seat, “Finally!” she grabbed maya and pulled her up, “I can't believe we survived that metal deathtrap.” she mumbled pulling Amaya through the terminal.

Once they were completely inside the airport and away from the 'metal deathtrap' Lee bolted to the cute asian couple holding up their names. Maya on the other hand, calmly walked towards them.

Lee skidded to a halt, bowed quickly and then attacked Akki Ho with a hug. “NEVER ALLOW ME ON THAT METAL DEATHTRAP AGAIN!” Maya arrived shortly after, bowing gracefully while giggling with Hye mi and Akki ho.

“Honey, I'm sorry but there will be many more deathtrap rides to come. You'll have to get used to it.” Akki replied trying not to laugh.

Lee groaned and let out a “Damn.” Maya giggled and smiled at Lee.

“Wanna grab our bags?”

“They're already in the car, honey,” Hye said sweetly placing her hand on Maya's shoulder.

Lee looked up in amazement at Hye mi, “Are you a ninja?” she whispered.

“ready to go then?” Hye mi giggled. Maya and lee both nodded.

Once outside of the airport doors Maya screamed. There was a limo and she was in Korea. Finally. Lee laughed and climbed into the limo with Maya who leaned over her to look at Hye mi and Akki Ho. “You're not coming?” she asked.

Hye mi shook her head, “No sweetie we have to settle in at our house, you guys are on the top floor, all of your things are already inside, and your driver will carry up your bags.”

Lee and Maya nodded and exchanged a small look of concern when the door of the limo closed. Maya shook her head and decided to snoop around the limo. “Lee... there's a TV.” she whispered flipping it on. It was on the Korean entertainment channel.

_“...today will be the arrival of SM's newest girl group, they released the first teaser photos months ago to reveal that these girls know how to play it cool....”_

Maya blinked as she stared at the teaser photos that had begun to show on the screen. “Lee... those are our pictures... From those photo shoots we did..” the first picture was Maya's motorcycle picture, she was clad in all leather and a black motorcycle helmet covered her face as she leaned against a neon blue motorcycle. The second was of Lee, also clad in leather and a black helmet, she was leaning against a red one. The third was both of them on sitting on their bikes. They looked totally B.A.

Then they started showing the other teaser photos. It was their other photo shoot. The one with their white flowy tube tops, denim shorts, and white healed boots. It was their innocent look. White clothes, soft pink, natural makeup, cute smiles and flower fields. Cookie cutter.

Then there was one more from their latest photo shoot, the one where they were sitting on the 43ver the flaw symbol in their signature outfits. That was their top selling poster photo, apparently.

Lee was furious, clenching her fists and biting her lip before exploding. “How fucking _DARE_ they put up photos of us without asking for permission first?” she screamed. She took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose attempting to calm herself.

Maya on the other hand was sucked into the report. “Look at their editing skills!” she exclaimed pointing at the pictures. “I don't have a blemish on my face.”

Lee raised her eyebrow at her, “what editing? You look exactly the same now.”

Maya shot her a glare, “no I don't! I have freckles right now and I didn't in those pictures so.. nah!” she giggled sticking her tongue out at her. Lee let out a chuckle and turned to look out the window only to see the giant SM entertainment studio.

-next ch-

“Maya we're here.” Lee said nudging her and putting on her sunglasses. Maya nodded and slipped on her sunglasses on as well. They looked out the window at their screaming fans as the driver ran and opened up lee's side of the car, who looked over at maya nervously. “How did they..?” she almost had to shout over the “WE LOVE YOU!”'s and “FTF FOR THE WIN!”'s. Maya giggled.

“They probably saw the teaser.”

“What teaser!?”

“That's why I told you to watch the screen!”

“What screen!?”

“THE ONE IN FRONT OF YOU!”

“oh.. that one.” she said giggling nervously, stepping out of the car. Maya smiled and stepped out of her door when it was opened for her. She walked around the car to join Lee and walk into SM Entertainment Korea.

They took a deep breath and walked through the double doors to the open arms of their managers. “Surprised?” Akki Ho smirked. The girls giggled and gave then both hugs.

“I thought you were settling in?” Maya asked confused. Hye Mi grinned.

“We will be, we thought we should at least go over the contract with you guys first.” the girls nodded and followed them into the conference room where they were explained the fabulous terms of the contracts.

After words Hye mi and Akki Ho left to settle in and the girls were taken to the dance studio to practice with their choreographer. Jo Rin, He was... well a hot, tall, built Asian. And let me tell you, he was a hard-core dancer, one that knew how to dance and not be cookie cutter, one that _refused_ to be cookie cutter, a _perfect_ choreographer for the girls. Also, not only was he pleased with their beautiful dance skills but he was also impressed with their progress with choreography for their single and only had to assist them here and there.

As the girls danced, and danced and danced some more, the SHINee boys were walking down the hall to exit the building, seeing as how they had just finished their dance practice a few doors down.

Taemin, with his acute curiosity stopped outside of the open door and watched the mysterious girls dance. Yes mysterious. They never took their sunglasses off remember? So he had no idea who they were and couldn't even get a good glimpse of their face.

“Manake!” Jonghyun said into Tae's hear while slapping his hand on his shoulder. Tae half jumped and turned to his hyung with his finger on his lips. Jong smirked at him. “Finally gaining an interest in girls other than Emma Watson?” he laughed while Tae glared.

“Hyung. I've had plenty of interest in girls... just these ones can dance.” He said semi-evilly Jong laughed.

“True. But I wonder what they look like. You can hardly tell with those big-ass sunglasses on their face.” He shrugged. “But we better go before Key has a melt down.” Tae nodded and followed his Hyung out the building after one last glance at the dancing girls.

Inside the room Jo Rin stopped the girls. “You've been dancing non stop. Take a break.”

“But I'm not tired...” Maya pouted.

“I'm good.... if there's red bull...” Lee mumbled glancing around the room. Jo Rin laughed at them.

“I'll be right back with some.” he smiled at the girls who grinned back and bowed a thank you. Once he had left maya looked around the room and skipped to the c.d. player.

“Play~” she giggled pressing the button, then frowning when it didn't play. “Finee then!” she pouted. “Skip!~” she pressed the button. Soon enough they heard a new upbeat badass song playing throughout the speakers. Maya stood in the middle of the practice room free styling with Lee. They played off of each other as they normally would and soon worked out a dance to the chorus of the song and even sang along.

“Waaarrrriiioooorr~”

Soon enough a small laugh was heard from the doorway and the two girls turned around blushing to see Jo Rin who smiled and handed them their red bulls. They both bowed a thank you.

“You know, that dance was really good, want to help me with the choreography for that song? The artist of it will be here to work it with me, but I'd like to put your chorus in there, would you mind teaching them?”

“Not at all” Maya smiled, “But can you show us the rest of the dance first?” she giggled with Lee.

“When are they supposed to get here?” Lee asked.

“A little less than a half hour.”

“Well then. That should be enough time....” she giggled a tad nervously then easier when Jo and Maya joined in on the laughter. They finished their drinks and then got to work.

 


	3. Dances and appartments

Unknown to them a half hour was passing and the B.A.P. Members we're standing, watching in awe inside the doorframe as they performed the boss stomping break dance about halfway through the song.   
What was unknown to them soon became well known to them when the song ended and they heard the boys practically fighting each other to get inside the room. Maya and lee both giggled and blushed while Jo Rin burst out laughing and went over to fix the situation and introduce himself to the boys. After they had all piled in and Jo had introduced himself it was the girls' turn.  
“Aniyo~ we are 43VER the FLAW!” The girls said in unison.   
“I'm Lee!” Lee blurted out at top speed with her signature military two-finger salute.  
“And I'm Maya~” Maya cheerfully said saluting with her two fingers and turning it into a cute peace sign. “We're new to Korea but have worked for SM for quite a while in America, so forgive our Korean, but we've been assisting Jo in making your dance and we will be teaching you as well, so if it's alright can we speak in English?” She asked in Korean, smiling sweetly at the end only to receive many nods from the boys. “Lee! You can talk now!” she yelled to the girl staring at her in confusion.  
“In English?” she asked. Maya giggled and nodded in response. “Thank god.”  
“Hello! We are B.A.P.!” the boys said together.  
“Blond Asian People?” the girls asked together both tilting their heads to the side at the same time. The boys busted out laughing.  
“Ani. It stands for Best Absolute Perfect. I'm Bang.”  
“I'm Himchan”  
“I'm Zelo.”  
“I'm Young Jae.”  
“Daehyun”  
“And I'm Jong Up.”  
“Okay! Let's dance then.” Maya giggled clapping her hands and turning to Jo Rin. “You can teach them the opening. We'll teach them the chorus and the Break down.” Jo rin nodded.  
“Sounds good. You guys going to get more red bull?”  
“Nope. Even better. Monster. The green one. Specifically the green one. The other ones are grooooss!” maya said scrunching her nose as she said gross, “come on lee lets get some enneerrggyyy”  
“Do you really need any more?” Lee said raising her eyebrow at her but following anyway.  
Soon enough the girls were back in the dance room sitting against the far wall drinking their giant sized monsters.  
Maya scrunched her nose and removed her sunglasses. Lee raised her eyebrow at her. And Maya returned her look with a half pout. “They were in the way of my drink. Look their in your way too!” She giggled watching Lee's can tap her sunglasses. Lee giggled in return and removed her sunglasses as well. They both giggled together and then turned to watch the boys only to see the boys watching them.   
They both blushed.   
“uhm....” Lee said averting her gaze.  
“W-what is it...?” Maya said timidly looking at the boys.  
“Oh.. uhm.. ah... nothing...” was the general reply from all of them.  
“We hadn't seen your faces yet.” Daehyun said matter-of-factly.  
“So you stare!?” Lee exclaimed. Bang started laughing.  
“Only cause you're both so pretty.” he said smirking. Daehyun let out a sigh that somehow turned into a nod with the rest of the group. Lee on the other hand rolled her eyes and turned to Maya.  
“well.. we both know how this is gonna end up.” she whispered. Maya tilted her head slightly then shook it.  
“Nope. No idea what you're talking 'bout.” Maya replied. Lee let out a chuckle and patted her head.  
“Oh yeah. I forgot. You're little Miss. Innocent.”   
“Miss. Innocent?” Maya and Daehyun asked in sync. Only to both look at each other and erupt into laughter.  
“Sheesh.” Lee and Bang both said face palming in sync only to also look at each other and erupt into laughter.  
“Yo. Sorry to rain on your little laughing party, but I said five minutes boys. Stop staring and get back to work.” Jo Rin yelled. Maya and Lee both looked at each other and laughed. They hadn't gotten yelled at once. But that wasn't ‘cause they hardly ever stopped dancing or anything.  
Maya stood up and placed down her drink. “Want us to teach 'em the chorus?” she asked Jo Rin.  
“Yes! Please. Take them off my hands for a bit.” The girls giggled and moved to the middle of the room where they danced the chorus once then broke it down into four parts teaching them in counts.  
“One-Two-three-NO! No. No. No. No. Like this!” Lee said frustrated with Yong Jae. “It's like this!!!” she yelled demonstrating something for the hundredth time.  
“One-two-three-ani.” Maya said pouting her lips and moving to Daehyun. “You're gonna bend more here.” she said placing her hand on his problem area's and pointing out how he was moving his body wrong. “Relax, let me move your body for you,” she smiled using him as a giant blushing puppet.  
Lee looked over and tried to keep herself from laughing at the scene. Little miss innocent. Pouting and placing her hands all over the poor boy's body, with not even the slightest clue as to what she is doing to him. “Yo! Miss innocent.” She yelled to her. Maya froze, her hand still gripping Daehyun's thigh that she was in the process of moving.  
“What?” She asked looking up to Lee who was still trying not to laugh.  
“You need to stop that”   
“Stop what? I'm only trying to help him. What am I doing wrong?”  
“You're touching him.”  
“So? I touch you all the time!” Maya shouted. Lee raised her eyebrows at the boys who all had their mouths gaping open.  
“Not like that, sickos.” she said closing Bang's jaw. “Now, Maya, let me put this simply. Boy. Tent. Equals. Guess what.”   
Maya's eyes widened and she jumped back, bowed, yelled sorry and ran out of the room. Then. And only then Lee allowed herself to laugh. Daehyun shot her a glare.  
“I didn't have a tent..” he mumbled following Maya out the door. She sat outside the building curled up into a ball blushing and shivering like crazy. Soon enough she felt a jacket fall on top of her head and she looked up to see Daehyun's face smiling at her. “Keep it. It's cold.” he said looking at her, she nodded and slowly put her arms into it. “You know it's alright. I knew you were just trying to help,” he said. Unfortunately that did nothing for her blush. Neither did him picking her up and carrying her inside. “I still need to learn the rest of the dance,” he stated looking at her surprised face. “And you're still my teacher.”  
They entered the room only to hear a few 'WHOOOOOOO''s from Daehyun's fellow members. But all of them were soon silenced by a joint glare from Lee and Daehyun. Daehyun set Maya down and raised an eyebrow at Bang who was also without a jacket seeing as how he had handed it to Lee. Who, may I add, was very happily wearing it.  
Maya shook her head, brushed her blue bangs out of her face and tuned to the boys. “So where were we?”   
A few hours later the boys had finally learned the entire dance. The girls put on their sunglasses and started for the door. Bang grabbed Lee's arm. And Daehyun grabbed Maya's. “You're leaving?” they both asked in sync.  
“Mhm We're done.” the girls replied in sync as they started for the door again.  
“Let us take you to dinner!” Zelo exclaimed. The girls gave each other a look that clearly told how weak they were to his adorableness.   
“Ok.”   
“Really!?” he asked. The girls giggled and nodded.  
“So where is B.A.P taking F.T.F?” Lee asked, “Because I'm hungry. And you're paying.” The boys laughed.  
“You'll see!” Bang grinned grabbing Lee's hand and pulling her out the door. Daehyun burrowed his eyebrows. There was no way Bang would one up him. He grabbed Maya's hand and smiled at her.   
“Ready?” he asked. She nodded with a blush and they all left the building.  
Soon enough they were all giggling down the streets. And Zelo was questioning the girls about the sunglasses.  
“It's simple Zellllliie!” Maya giggled. “We've already gained a fan base it would seem.”  
“And I am not fitting to be attacked by some random Flawlies.” Lee stated.   
“Ahh.. That makes sense.”  
“Aren't you worried about the same thing?” Maya asked Daehyun.  
“No. Our fans are a little scared of us.” he stated. Maya and lee burst out laughing.   
“Scared? Of you? Why?” they giggled in sync.   
“Why. You.” Daehyun said through gritted teeth, “I'm very scary.” he said looking at Lee, who was then picked up by Bang.   
“But I'm not!” Bang whispered into her ear. Lee blushed.   
“I'd tell you to put me down. But walking is a lot of trouble.” she whispered back not paying any attention to Daehyun and Amaya's accidental flirting.  
“I'm very, very scary!” he yelled as Maya half screamed and half giggled darting between different members of the group.  
“Oh so scary!” she giggled. “And yet you can't catch me” she whispered from between Zelo and Jong up.   
Daehyun smirked, grabbed her waist and pulled her into his arms, picking her up bridal style. She let out a small shriek but then played it off by inspecting her nails.   
Hours past and they finally made it to their new place, which they were much to tired to inspect. Instead they just threw their jackets and shoes off and into the living room and crashed on the couch surrounded by their unpacked boxes, suitcases and a house filled with who knows what else.   
They both woke up fairly early in the morning to the immense light pouring throughout the huge windows. Maya shot up and looked at Lee who was doing the exact same thing. They both grinned at each other, jumped off of the couches, and ran to explore the house together.   
It was exactly how Maya had described, except it was better, and there was an extra room with fabrics, sewing supplies, two sewing machines, two tables, and two sketch stations. The only other thing that was different from what she imagined was her room was not splattered with neon colors, and both the girls already had a full walk in closet in their rooms. That they didn't expect at all.   
Maya dashed into her closet and Lee did the same. They both pulled out innocent looking white dresses. Lee's dress was pure white with silver beading on the breastbone up to the thin straps. Maya's pick was also a pure white but it was very flowy with black trim on the bottom of the dress and on the flowy off the shoulder sleeves. It also had a cute black belt that would fit perfectly around her waist. The girls both put the dresses up to themselves still on the hanger and spun in front of their full-length mirrors that were placed conveniently inside their closets. They ran out into the living room to meet each other holding up their dresses in glee then laughing when they realized they both picked white dresses.   
“I'm gonna take a bath!” they both said at the same time bursting out into laughter again and running into their rooms, placing their dresses on their beds and then running into their huge bathrooms and running hot water, pouring various scented bubbles and such into the huge hot-tub like baths and then climbing into their personal spas to get cleaned up.  
Soon they were both blow drying their hair in their personal bathrooms and then putting in one of their many various colored contacts. Lee had bright green this time while Maya had electric blue to match her hair.   
Lee was brushing her hair while Maya was applying her usual makeup, foundation and a little bit of eyeliner and mascara. They both got dressed and put on little white healed booties that laced up in the front and buckled on the side. They walked into the living room and giggled at the similarity in their outfits and then jumped when they heard a knock at the door. They exchanged a look and went to go answer it when the guests invited themselves in.


	4. Powerdrills

But it was alright. It was just Akki Ho and Hye mi. “Hello girls!” Hye mi sang smiling cheerfully and walking over to give them hugs.

“Morning!” they chirped in unison hugging her and her husband.

“Here is your schedule. You don't have anything until 4:30 so that you can begin unpacking. I'm sure you've seen the power tools laying around for if you want to hang things up.”

Lee and Maya exchanged a look. “uh… yeah... of course...” Maya mumbled and lee averted her gaze. Akki raised his eyebrow.

“You did come home yesterday right?”

“Yeah! Of course!! Just not till like 4....” Lee half mumbled.

“WHAT!” Akki screamed, “FOUR IN THE MORNING?”

“Yeah…we went out with B.A.P…” Maya mumbled.

“You. Went out. With them?” Hye mi half asked.

“Oh no not like that! We helped Jo rin do their choreography and then they wanted to take us out to dinner, so we let them and then we did karaoke and they showed us around the city and then we got home…”

“Don't let it happen without notifying us again.” Akki stated. Lee and Maya nodded.

“We'll be back at 4:10 to pick you guys up. Good luck unpacking.” Hye mi smiled, gave them hugs and followed Akki out the door. Once outside the door they headed down the stairs to the next loft.

“I'll talk to SHINee,” Hye mi smiled at Akki walking to the right door.

“Guess that leaves U-KISS to me.” Akki smiled back walking to the left door.

“Hello, as you probably know we are SM managers, and we have a new group living upstairs. They're from America and are new to Korea, so we would appreciate it greatly if you boys could keep an eye on them and assist them if there is any trouble.” That was the spiel they gave the two boy groups. That was the spiel that worked flawlessly.

Upstairs, the girls were looking at each other and the boxes surrounding them sighing.

“Well... might as well get to work!” Maya shouted popping up and running into the sewing room to grab scissors then running back to the living room and cutting open the boxes.

“Yah!” Lee screamed. “Don't run with those things!” she half laughed at Maya who was dumping arm fulls of her stuffed animals onto her bed. Maya stuck her tongue out in response.

“I don't have them anymore! They're on the table” she said pointing to the bright orange scissors sitting on the end of the table in the living room. “Yah!” Maya yelled this time. “These ones are yours!” She giggled and scooped up an arm full of stuffed animals and dumped them on Lee's bed.

She walked out of Lee's room only to trip over a box, scream, and land with a thump on the floor. “ahh... apa...” she mumbled sitting on the floor and rubbing her head.

“You klutz!” Lee laughed only to trip over a box herself and do the exact same thing.

“Karma!” Maya barely managed to yell as they both began laughing like crazy and unpacking what they could until all they had left was boxes of books and pictures and such to hang.

“Now where are those power tools and screws and things Akki said were here?” Lee mumbled to herself looking around the room only to find them right under her nose in the living room, on the table, right next to the scissors.

Downstairs the boys were becoming wary of all the thumping and the muffled yelling. “Shouldn't we go check on them, hyung?” Taemin looked at the other boys in the group who were all sitting on the bare wood floor and staring at the ceiling.

“Nah” Key shrugged. The banging and yelling continued and got increasingly louder. Key’s face grew concerned and he jumped up from the floor and headed towards the door. “Yeah. Yeah right now. Lets go.” The remainder SHINee stood up and raced out the door and up the stairs towards the banging and yelling.

On the other side of SHINee's hallway U-Kiss laid in their loft. Kevin was messing with Eli, Dongho was playing video games, AJ and Hoon were chatting with each other, and Kiesop and Soohyun laid sprawled out on the floor watching Dongho play his game.

Kevin stopped pushing Eli for a minute and let out a sigh, “Dang. The SHINee boys sure are noisy today,” he stated before pushing Eli again.

“Um...” Dongho mumbled pausing the game and listening to the racket, “I don't think that's SHINee…It's coming from above us…” Everyone nodded in agreement and went back to what they were doing.

A long second passed before everyone stopped and stared at each other, their eyes wide open with the realization that the girls lived upstairs and they were supposed to be keeping an eye on them.

“SHIT!” They all yelled scrambling out the door and up the stairs only to run into SHINee in the hallway.

“You heard the noise too?” Onew said looking at Eli who nodded.

“SHUSH!” Key said hitting Onew and turning his ear towards the door to see if he could hear anything.

On the other side of the door the girls were screaming at each other.

“THE DAMN THING WONT WORK MAYA! LET ME THROW IT!!” Lee screamed holding a power drill with both hands and struggling to make Maya let go of it.

“NO! I KNOW YOU'RE PISSED AND ALL BUT THE LAST THING WE NEED IS THESE DAMN WINDOWS BUSTED! DO YOU SEE HOW MANY OF THEM THERE ARE?” Maya screamed trying to pry the drill out of Lee's hands.

“GAH!” Lee screamed letting go and causing Maya to fall backwards on to the floor. “YOU MAKE IT WORK THEN!” she yelled, Maya glared.

“Are they fighting over a power drill...?” Dongho whispered on the other side of the door only to be silenced by a chorus of “SHHHHH”

Maya banged the power drill on the ground and started screaming bloody murder at the fact that it wouldn't work. It came out as a bunch of mangled screams similar to this: “GAH! UGH! THE DAMN-GAAHHH-FUCK-OW... SHIT! WHY!!!!” it was at this point that Lee started to try to get the power drill out of Maya's hands and the Boys decided it was still too loud and not getting any better, also their curiosity and worry had only been growing outside of the door with the increasing screaming.

The door burst open and the boys tumbled inside. Lee, who was facing the door, blinked twice before her eyes widened and her grip fell.

Once her grip loosened Maya fell back and lost her grip on the power drill, which then went flying towards the boys and promptly landed in Key's hands.

“Maya.... we have company...” Lee said nervously glancing between Maya and the boys.

“First off, OOOWWW!” Maya yelled glaring at Lee from the floor, “Why'd you let go like that? That's the second time! I am in a lot of pain right now you know!” she yelled still not even looking towards the door, “Second! What do you mean-” She stopped mid sentence because there was a boy holding out his hand to help her up. And it wasn't just any boy. It was Minho. Choi Minho. The Choi Minho from SHINee.


	5. Tomatos and Hamburgers

“Are you okay?” He asked. Maya gulped, nodded and took his hand. He pulled her up and smiled. “Good.” he walked back over by Key, who was examining the power drill, and the rest of the boys who were standing by the door.

Maya spun around to face all of them, took a deep breath and bowed, “ Ahn-nyong-ha-se-yo.” she chirped sweetly. She thought of it as a sign of respect to say hello in their own language. “I have no idea why you all burst into our apartment, but since you did I might as well introduce myself and my bandmate. I'm Amaya Serene, but you can just call me Maya, and this is Aleera Elizabeth, but she normally just goes by Lee, and we are 43ver the Flaw.” she smiled at them.

The boys all smiled back and were all about to start introductions when key cut in. “The battery is dead.” He said flatly.

“ _ **WHAT**_?” Lee and Maya yelled in unison.

“The battery…on the power drill… it's dead, it needs to be charged.” Lee raised her eyebrow.

“That is what we were getting worked up about? Wow.” she mumbled and turned to Maya, “Maya, you and I have got some problems…” She turned to look at the boys who were slowly coming in the house, smirked, waved a hand in greeting, and then grabbed the drill from Key. She took out the battery pack and slammed it into its charger on the wall. “Since there here you think they'll help us with the heavy things and setting stuff up?” She asked a blushing Maya who still had Minho next to her.

But then again who wouldn't blush? And then to make matters worse she soon had Kevin and Kiesop next to her as well and the rest of the boys were migrating as well.

“Yeah. We can help if you want.” Kevin said smiling. Eli rolled his eyes and grabbed Kevin to help him with the boxes, Dongho followed and Soohyun was staring at Lee--until he got caught. she blushed in response and he followed Dongho.

“We'll help too!” Taemin half-yelled following the other boys, Maya giggled and Minho looked at her with a smile.

“Cute,” He muttered in Korean before following the other boys out the door. Maya blushed then shook her head.

“Well! We should probably show them where the relaxation room is…considering most if not all of those boxes are books.” Lee giggled as the boys returned inside with boxes in hand. Unbeknownst to her a lot of them thought she was cute too.

“This way!” the girls sang in unison, directing them to the relaxation room. They both got out the two ladders to the bookshelf and started opening boxes.

“Here, we'll hand them to you.” Key and Jonghyun said grabbing books out and handing them to the girls on the ladders to put away. “By the way, Lee.” Jonghyun said with a wink, “nice ass.” he turned to say something to Maya only to be stabbed with a glare by Key.

“I'm aware Maya's ass is nice too.” Key muttered, “but if you mention it…I'll kill you.” he whispered. Lee blushed and continued to put away books without a word. Everything was going smoothly for a girls till a book slipped from Maya's fingers. Luckily, Kevin, who turned out to be a sneaky little ninja, caught it.

“Here you go” he smiled and looked up at her. His eyes slowly began to travel down her body and he gulped before adverting his eyes back at Maya's face.

“Thanks” She smiled grabbing the book and putting it in place. After a few more short minutes the books were finished and Lee dismounted the ladder without any effort.

“Oh. Thanks for the comment” Lee said glancing at the boys before walking out of the door and going to show the other boys where to put boxes. Maya, on the other hand wasn't so graceful-for once-she began to dismount the ladder only to slip and fall and-thankfully-be caught by a different sneaky little ninja, Kiesop. She turned a shade of bright red jumped out of his arms, muttered a thank you and promply ran out of the room. Luck was not in her favor today because she ran out of the room and straight into Taemin. The velocity at which she was traveling must have created an incredible force because she fell right on top of him. On to the floor. In a really awkward position. Once again her face was the shade of a tomato. She jumped up mumbled an apology and then ran to the balcony to try and regain normal color in her face. Lee watched Amaya in puzzlement and followed her out onto the balcony.

“Hey, What's up?” Lee asked. Maya let out a deep breath and turned around.

“I totally made a fool of myself in front of them,” Maya sighed.

“By what? being a klutz?” Lee giggled, then she saw maya wasn't smiling back, “Hey. You didn't make a fool of yourself. Being a klutz is natural, everyone does it. Let's go finish up and then get something to eat. I'm hungry.” she smiled and pulled Maya back into the house to finish unpacking. Maya had just finished setting up one of her lamps Lee walked in. Maya was staring blankly around her room with her arms crossed. “What are you staring at?”

“This room... it needs some neon paint.. Help me with it tomorrow morning, okay?” Lee nodded and pulled her schedule out from her pocket. “We don't have anything till 4:30...”

“Yeah... want to make the boys buy us food?” Maya jokingly giggled.

“What do you mean 'make us'” came Kiesop's voice from the door. Maya jumped at his sudden appearance, blushed and started to stammer a reply.

“You wouldn't need to make us.” Kevin smiled as he appeared behind Kiesop

“Who wouldn't love to take out two gorgeous girls?” Eli said appearing with a smirk and a wink.

“Hey! That's my job!” Jonghyun said, lightly pushing Eli, “I'm the flirt.” he said with a wink. Maya and Lee exchanged a look and giggled.

“Well, maybe I want Hyun to take me.” Lee giggled walking past the boys in the doorway.

“Yeah! And maybe I want Minho to take me!” Maya giggled following Lee into the living room.

“Alright.” The girls both looked towards the response. Minho and Soohyun smiled at them. “We'll take you.” The girls exchanged a look of surprise and joy.

“We were kidding..” Maya quietly said with a blush.

“We weren't.” The girls' eyes both widened and Lee scratched the top of her head.

“Uhm.. are you seriously going to take us out?” she asked looking up at the two boys. Hyun blushed and nodded in response while Minho gave the girls his signature smile. Behind them stood the rest of U-kiss and SHINee, both groups glaring daggers.

“What would you like to eat?” Minho asked. Lee shrugged.

“It honestly doesn't matter to me..” she looked at Maya, “What about you?”

“Hmm..” She muttered putting her finger cutely up to her lips in thought, “Anything that sells cheeseburgers.. preferably with bacon!” She said with a grin and a head tilt as she removed her finger from her lip.

“Alright then, lets go,” Minho said opening the door for the girls with a smile. The girls exchanged a look, blushed and then walked out the door. Hyun followed them out and Minho looked at the other boys and stuck out his tongue before following them out as well. This did not help the situation.

“We're coming too!” the boys yelled running out the door to follow Minho, Soohyun and the girls. There was no way they were going to let them win that easily. Maya and Lee both giggled and looked behind them at the group of boys they were surrounded by. Maya had Minho, Key, Taemin, Kiesop and Kevin around her. Lee had Soohyun, Jonghyun, Onew, Hoon, and AJ around to her. And in the middle was Eli and Dongho.

“Maya~” Taemin chirped jumping and moving as close to Maya as the rest of the boys would allow, “I know the best place that serves American hamburgers! I'm sure they'll have some with bacon on it there!” Maya's face lit up as she grinned at him and grabbed his arm, which forced several glares his way that maya was entirely unaware of.

“Really! Really? Can you show us where it is?” she asked in pure excitement. She let go of his arm and turned around to face the rest of the group. “Can we go there? Please?” she asked as cutely as she could. Lee giggled at her.

“I'm down.” she said with a smile, “Taemin, why don't you lead the way?” Taemin grinned and grabbed Maya's hand.

“Come on it's this way!” he practically yelled as he started to run and drag Maya along. Maya blushed and looked hopelessly back at the group as she attempted to keep up with Taemin and maintain her balance. Minho, Kiesop, Key, and Kevin were all glaring at Taemin again. While the rest of the group, the other boys and Lee, were laughing their asses off at the surprised and flustered look on Maya's face paired with Taemin's blissful expression and the other guys' resentment towards how close in proximity Taemin was to Maya.

“T-Tae...” Maya stuttered turning back to look at him, “Can we stop running?” she asked, half tripping over her own feet. The two came to a halt and she took a deep breath while the others caught up. “Thank you.” she breathed looking at him with a smile.

“Could you let go of her hand please!?” Key hissed at Taemin, who, in response, grinned and pulled Maya a little closer while shaking his head. Kiesop looked at Taemin, looked at Maya, looked at their hands, and then bit his lip and shot a glare at Taemin. Minho was staring at their hands half in shock and half debating on what to do. Kevin was deep in thought. He wanted to lighten the mood, and get Maya away from Tae. But he wasn't sure how to do it at the same time. Maya looked at all of them, smiled, and then let go of Taemin's hand. She walked over to Lee, grabbed her hand and grinned.

“This way, they wont fight about holding our hands, will they?” Lee nodded to her and the girls walked ahead of the boys. Maya grinned and walked happily ahead while lee shook her head, thinking about the boys' ridiculous reactions. Soon enough they reached a rather american looking restaurant. “This it?” Maya inquired looking at Tae.

“Yup!” He grinned and opened the door. The girls walked in first, Maya pulling Lee. They were followed by all of U-kiss and then the all of SHINee, Taemin being last because he was holding the door. The place was packed. And apparently it was packed with K-pop fans because it seemed as though every person in the restaurant's eyes widened in shock at the idols' presence. And then there was a mob of screaming fans rushing towards them.


	6. Mobs and Menus

Lee's eyes widened as she ducked behind Amaya. She was scared shitless. Amaya on the other hand, was fine and dandy: smiling, giving autographs, and taking pictures with fans. And the boys unconsiously formed some kind of protective formation around her. Minho was on Amaya's left, Kiesop was on her right, Key was diagonally in front of her, Kevin was behind her, and Taemin was... well he was overwhelmed with fans and couldn't get in to formation in time.

Lee took a look around her and slowly found a way to sneak out of the crowd and into fresh air. Soohyun, who was keeping a very close eye on her watched her sneak away and barely managed to follow her out.

Inside was pure chaos, although it was slowly dieing down as people got their autographs and pictures and then returned to their seat. Minho was smiling and signing autographs while occasionally looking to see if any of Maya's fans were acting inappropriately, and the other boys seemed to be doing the same – minus Onew, who was asking if they sold chicken, Jonghyun, who was flirting with his fans, Taemin and Dongho, who were being overwhelmed with fans, Hoon and AJ, who were looking out for each other due to Lee's absence, and Eli, who was also flirting his ass off.

Amaya smiled as a boy around her age bounded up to her with a pad of paper and a pen in hand. She smiled as she took the pad and pen, “What's your name?”

“Kiri.”

“Alright, Ki-ri...” she muttered while writing.

“Can I have a picture too?” He asked digging out his cell phone.

“Sure,” she smiled. Kiri grinned and put his hand around her waist pulling her close to him.

Minho glanced over at the kid and noticed his arm and how dangerously low the kid's hand was. He nonchalantly, yet violently, grabbed the kid's wrist and pulled it towards him after he heard the click of the camera.

“Careful where you place your hand.” he hissed through gritted teeth.

Kiesop, who had also seen how dangerously low the kid's hand was, leaned in towards the kid's ear on his other side, “you could lose it.” he whispered before returning to his fans.

Minho released the kid and smiled at his fan that was near him.

Maya was completely oblivious to the situation and was taking a few pictures with a cute little asian girl.

Soon the fans were all in their seats and the groups breathed a sigh of relief before sitting at a big table.

Outside Lee sat on a bench with Soohyun. And a little girl, probably about six, holding a white rose tapped on her knee. Lee smiled and looked down at the child. “Hello, is there something you need?” she asked sweetly.

“C-can I have an autograph?” the girl stuttered. Lee grinned at the little girl's cuteness.

“Sure, sweetheart. What's your name?” She asked as the girl's smiling parents handed her a pen and a pad of paper.

“Shin di..” the girl said shyly. Lee nodded and began to write on the paper.

“There you are!” Lee smiled handing her the pad and pen. The little girl grinned in delight and handed Lee the white rose.

Inside Maya looked worriedly around the restaurant. “Where's Aleera?” she asked.

“Who...?” Taemin asked with a strange expression on his face.

“Lee.” Jonghyun responded nudging him with his elbow.

“oh...”

“Maybe she's with Soohyun...” Kiesop stated.

“'Cause he doesn't appear to be around either.” Kevin added. Maya nodded.

“Well, I'll check outside real quick.” she said standing up. Most of boys stood up with her and said a chorus of “I'll go too”s. Maya shook her head. “That's alright. I'll be right back.” And with that she half-ran out the restaurant. She burst out the door and looked to her left, then to her right to see Lee and Soohyun sitting on a bench. She let out a sigh of relief and walked over to them. “why'd you disappear like that? Did you get scared again..?” she asked before sighing, “Well, it doesn't matter now, they've all calmed down and we have a table. Let's go order..” she said smiling and pulling Lee up. She then turned to Soohyun who stood up with Lee. “Thanks for looking out for her.” and with that they walked into the restaurant and returned to their seats.

“I see you found her.” Key stated, handing Maya a menu. “Pick what you want, they have everything in english on there too.” Maya blinked at him. Then blinked again.

“Are you insulting my Korean?” she asked fluently in his own language, “I can read, write, and speak it almost as well as English, I also speak French, German, and Japanese.”

This time Key blinked. Then blinked again. As did the other koreans at the table.

“English, french, German, Japanese and Korean?” Key was clearly stunned.

“Yup. I was obsessed with rosetta stone for a while. I only asked for you guys to speak in English for Lee. So if you don't mind let's return to that because I'm sure she's feeling rather uncomfortable.” she then turned to Lee and smiled. “Key says there's english on the menu, I was explaining on how I don't really need it considering how many languages I write and speak in.”

Lee nodded finally understanding what that was all about, “Well. Its a good thing there's english.” she said opening her menu.

Soon everyone had ordered their food and the talking started up again. Key smiled at Maya brightly.

“So what all can you say in Japanese?” He asked. Maya shrugged and let out a small chuckle.

“Anything you want really. I'm pretty much fluent.” he nodded in response.

“So, does Lee only know how to speak English?” he asked. Maya shook her head.

“No. She knows German and Japanese too, but, that's about it. Although, I am trying to teach her some Korean.” she explained to Key then grinned at Lee who waved in response.

“But you speak French. Right?” Kevin asked, maya nodded, “Great. So do I.” he grinned at her. Kiesop, Key and Minho all shot him a glare. he was unfazed.

Lee rolled her eyes and chuckled at Maya. “Oh wow. She's so oblivious to everything.” she mumbled. Soohyun and Hoon looked over at her.

“Who's oblivious?” Hoon asked. Lee smiled and pointed to Maya.

“She is. It's really sad that she is too.” she chuckled and the boys smiled. Soon after Maya excused herself to the bathroom really quick and Minho turned to Lee.

“You said she's oblivious. What's she oblivious to?” he asked.

“Everything!” She giggled, “But relationships more than anything, she's never had a boyfriend or anything so if _any_ of you end up dating her you better be good to her.”

“She's never had a boyfriend?” Kiesop asked.

“Her?” Key added.

“Seriously?” Kevin asked.

“How?” Minho and Taemin asked in unison.

“I told you. She's oblivious. She never knows when guys like her, unless they outright state it and she knows they are asking her out,” she said. they all nodded in understanding, “But! I'm not saying to go jump out and tell her now. 'Cause you'll scare her off. Just sayin'” she added. Then, as if perfectly timed, Maya returned and their food arrived.

They ate, talked and laughed and when they had finished a haunting ringtone rang through the air. Lee pulled out her iphone and the sirens rang louder. “Manager” flashed on the screen and the girls looked at each other and gulped. She slid her finger across the screen and held it up to her ear.


	7. Strange photographers and leather pants

“Hello?”

“It's almost time for the photo shoot.” Akki Ho's voice rang through the phone line.

“What's he saying?” Maya mouthed to Lee.

“It's almost time for the photo shoot” Lee mouthed back.

“Lee.” Akki's spoke through the phone.

“Yes?” She quickly responded.

“Come outside we're waiting in the car.”

“WHAT?” Lee yelled, “What do you mean your waiting in the car? How'd you know where we are?” She half-yelled into the phone.

“We have our ways.” both girls looked toward the door where the voice was coming from. Hye Mi stood in the frame smiling. “Come along.”

“uh... okay..” The girls said in unison getting up.

“Oh! Thanks for taking us out!” Lee said.

“Gahm-sah-hahm-ni-da!” Maya said bowing and smiling sweetly.

“Bye~” the girls said together waving and then running out the door and into the car.

The boys all blinked after they waved their goodbyes as the girls left. Minho picked up the tab.

“I'll go pay,” he said as he began to get up. He didn't get far though because he was tackled—courtesy of all the other boys who apparently also wanted to pay. Funny what two cute girls could do. In the end they all just split the entire thing.

“Splitting won't work when it comes to the girls you know.” Onew announced as they walked out of the restaurant.

“We all know that, idiot,” was Key's smartass reply.

“That's why we'll let them choose.” Tae added sweetly.

“Psh.” Jonghyun scoffed, “I sure as hell wont go down without a fight.”

“And you think we will?” Came the general reply. The only one who didn't say that was Dongho who just said something about needing to call his girlfriend.

Inside the car, the girls were surprised to find their managers happy and silent. The girls both exchanged a glance and a shrug and then turned up the volume on the radio. They exchanged a grin after hearing 2NE1 song blast through the speakers.

“I THINK I'M UGLY AND NOBODY WANTS TO LOVE ME” they sang in harmony. they jammed out until they reached their destination.

It had taken a few songs, but eventually the car pulled up to the front of an extreamely tall building that had to be some kind of studio. Lee gulped. “That is a really big building...” Maya giggled at Lee's reaction and Akki Ho nodded.

“Yes. Now lets go.” with those words, Akki lead them through the double doors and into a bustling studio. There was the photographer and his tech crew setting up the lighting, fans, his camera and who knows that else; There were stylists setting up makeup and hair accessories, and there were people nagging Akki Ho to steal us for dressing. “Go. Go. Take them. You have five minutes to get them dressed and out here for styling!” he said waving them off with his hand. The girls were then dragged into a dressing room and stuffed into some pretty bad ass looking clothes.

Amaya was put into low rise black leather pants, that fit like skinny jeans, a bright blue lace up corset-like shirt that showed her stomach, black fishnet fingerless gloves and bright blue knee high doc martins

Lee was put into an extremely similar outfit. She had low rise white leather pants that fit like Maya's, a red version of Maya's shirt, white fishnet gloves, and black knee high doc martins with enough of a heal to make her Maya's height.

They had barely tied their boots when they were rushed out of the door and seated in front of huge light up mirrors with matching stylists. Amaya took a breath closed her eyes and let the stylists have complete control. Lee on the other hand was trying not to freak out and come off as rude to her stylists. She glanced over to Maya who was smiling while her hair was being done. Lee let out a sigh, closed her eyes and attempted to let them finish without freaking out.

After their hair and makeup was finished, assistants came flying at them by the tens with accessories to slap on them. Maya gained a white spiked belt with electric blue paint-splattered studs, and Lee had gained the same belt in black and red, they both gained a wide variety of bangles and spiked bracelets as well as matching chokers. They were gothic influenced, but with 43ver the Flaw design as the pendant. Then they both stood looking at themselves in the mirror.

Maya was amazed by how the outfit flowed together so well and how even though her hair was messy it was extremely cute.

Lee on the other hand was taken aback staring at the weird glittery makeup that didn't fit the outfits at all. She turned to mention it to Maya but stopped when she looked at her. Maya was glowing, at least that's what Lee thought, Lee thought Maya looked so flawless in the professional makeup and the outfit fit her to the T; it showed off everything sexy and bad ass about her. She let out a sigh and turned back to her own reflection trying to hide her envy.

Unbeknownst to Lee, Maya thought just about the same things about Lee.

“Ready girls?” Akki Ho called coming towards them. They both turned around and smiled and Akki let out a gasp. “Wow. The concept really is perfect. And you two pull it off brilliantly. Well. Lets get this started.”

The girls walked out to a pink glittery set with their signature 43ver the Flaw broken heart statute from their first photo shoot. The only difference was the color it was splashed with pink glitter and black in random patterns to make it look as though it was tainted. It was perfect for the concept. Maya grinned looking at the familiar stairs and places where she could hang in crazy poses. Lee on the other hand gulped and glanced from her heals to the stairs.

“Ms Lee. On the left, all the way at the top. Ms. Maya to the right. Also on the top.” Maya grinned. And nodded running up the stairs on the right. That was the higher side and the one she wanted. Lee gulped and made her way carefully up to her post.

Maya grinned down at Lee and hung her legs off the edge and onto the letters like she did on their first poster and looked at Lee to do the same. “I assume you want a signature one?” Maya said flashing the photographer a quick smile before getting into her 'modeling zone' and putting on her 'fierce' face. The photographer smiled.

“Yes! Good!” he snapped a few pictures at various angles, “Now just model. Do whatever you want. Make it crazy. Make it bad-ass, make it sweet, make it conflicting.” he instructed.

Lee smiled sweetly while maya laid on her pedestal and glared at the camera. “Great! That's exactly what I want! Do the opposite of each other!” The girls both turned to each other and Amaya sat up and threw her head back in laughter as Lee gave the camera her 'shut the fuck up' look.

Soon enough the girls ended up laughing and looking at each other. Maya laid on her stomach cutely her arm outstretched and her fingers intertwined with Lee's as they smiled at each other.

“Not exactly conflicting but that's a good shot girls!” the photographer laughed. “NOW CONFLICT!” he yelled as Amaya jumped up and lee glared at him. He caught the picture perfectly with Maya in the air laughing and Lee glaring intensely. “PERFECT! KEEP IT UP!”

Maya nonchalantly sat on the stairs looking up aimlessly as Lee giggled laying on her pedestal. The photo shoot continued like that for an hour until Lee complained about being hungry and they got a break for food.

“FOOD!” Lee screamed bounding down the stairs and to the table filled with food. Maya laughed and calmly walked down the stairs. She glanced at one of the staff members.

“She got over the fear of running in those heals fast didn't she?”

“Maya! They've got poky!” lee screamed.

“Excuse me!” Maya said to the staff member before bolting to the table next to Lee and scooping up some pocky. For the next 10 minutes the girls ate, talked and giggled before they had to return to work.

“Girls, in front this time!” the photographer yelled. The girls giggled and ran in front of the fixture. Lee leaned up against the left side of the broken heart looking up into the light. Maya leaned against the right side and looked out past the camera with a soft smile. “Wow. Great shot girls. Really great, especially for just having gotten back from a break.” he smiled at the picture he just took, “Now, Lee, climb up a few stairs and look back at me. Maya, keep that pose.” he snapped the picture and smiled, “Now, Maya climb up two stairs higher than Lee and look back. Be fierce and determined. Lee, keep that pose and smile.”

The photographer switched the angle he was taking the picture and took another shot. “Alright. Now For the rest of these photos,” he started looking at both the girls then turned to maya, “Maya, be fierce, Determined, Bad-ass, Triumphant, confident.” he then turned to lee, “Lee, be a little shy, smile softly, just give a soft look, and maya keep yours strong, and it's okay if you feel like looking angry, too.” the girls both nodded. Lee turned to Maya with a smile and Maya looked at lee fiercely. She didn't look angry. She just looked...Strong. Fierce. Determined. Confident. And well... gorgeous. Lee fought back gulping and held her soft smile as the photographer rejoiced.

“THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WANT! KEEP IT UP.”

Lee let out a giggle and covered her mouth with her hand as Maya leaned back on the stairs and looked out away from the camera. at the next good shot, Maya stood at the highest point on the fixture looking fiercely at the camera with a small smirk as Lee leaned against one of the letters looking out with a sad smile.

“That's a wrap!” the photographer yelled. Maya fell to her knees and let out a sigh.

“How was I?” she asked timidly. Lee blinked as she looked at Maya in surprise.

“What...what happened to that confidence?” she half-mumbled, “It was... stunning.. you were great Maya..” She sounded slightly dejected as though she wasn't good enough. Maya let out a small smile.

“Really?” she let out a breath, “I was worried I didn't do as well as you. You did everything he asked you to perfectly.” And with that she descended the fixture and went to ask if they could keep the outfits as lee stood there with her mouth ajar.

“As well as me?” Lee mumbled, “That girl.. has some issues.”

Maya returned with the happy news that they could keep the outfits and didn't even have to change out of them. The girls grinned at each other, grabbed their clothes, and headed out to the waiting car.

The car ride was interesting, as usual. K-pop was blasting from the stereo with Maya singing along to every song while Lee stared out the window at billboards and thought about their debut.

She wondered when they'd have their first concert, what they'd wear, how hard they'd have to train, how chaotic it would be. She glanced at Amaya with a soft smile and let out a small giggle seeing Akki Ho's frowning face before returning to her thoughts with a sigh.

Once they arrived at the apartments they all took the elevator up to the girls' flat. Maya was bouncy as ever in the elevator giggling with Hye mi and Akki ho about the concept of the photo-shoot. Lee remained mostly quiet until they entered the flat itself.

“I'm tired. I'm going to bed.” Lee said flatly. She bowed to the managers and then made her way to her room.

“What's wrong with her?” Akki ho asked. The only reply he received was shrugs.

“Well, you all good here Maya?” Hye Mi asked sweetly. Maya smiled and nodded in response.

“Well, then we'll be off. We'll be here early tomorrow to drop off your schedules and wake you up.”

“Neh. Gam-sahab-nida.” Maya said with a bow as they walked out the door. She let out a sigh as they left and made her way to Lee's room. She knocked lightly on the door before pushing it open.

“Lee...?” she asked quietly into the silent air of the dark room. She stepped forward and smiled. Lee was already crashed. “Guess she really was tired.” She giggled before leaving the room and closing the door.

She sighed again and flopped onto the couch upside down. “What to do... what to do..” she muttered to herself. She wasn't tired at all. In fact, she was the exact opposite.

She looked at the front door. And then looked at lee's door. Then she looked at the front door again.

“I wonder what the boys are doing...”

As if on cue there was a knock on the door. Maya fell of the couch with a flip and scrambled to the door.


	8. Visitors and Dramas

As if on cue there was a knock on the door. Maya fell of the couch with a flip and scrambled to the door.

She opened the door to see a very shocked Minho, Key, Taemin, Kevin, and Kiesop.

“You okay..?” Taemin asked her in a worried tone. Maya let out a giggle.

“Yeah, I'm fine. You just startled me is all. Come on in..” She stepped aside to let them into the house and motioned to lee's door, “Lee's asleep... so..” she turned back to look at the boys again, “wait.. where's the rest of you guys?”

“They're asleep.” they all answered in unison.

“I see, So what brings you guys here?”

“uhm...” Kiesop muttered looking to the others for help.

“That's a cool outfit you've got on.” Key stated looking at Maya from head to toe. She blushed slightly.

“oh.. this” she blushed more, “I forgot I was still wearing this.. It's from our photo-shoot..”

“It's bad ass.” Key stated again, “Wanna go out?”

Maya's eyes widened, “w-what..?”

“Eh. Guess not.” Key said with a shrug while the other boys glared daggers at him.

“I can't wait to see the pictures!” Taemin chirped.

“Me either” Maya grinned, “but.. uh.. really.. what brings you here?”

“I'm wondering that too. Considering I was trying to sleep.” Lee stood in her doorway, arms crossed, staring at the boys.

“You were sleeping in that outfit?” Key asked bluntly looking her up and down.

“Didn't feel like changing.” Lee stated walking past them and having a seat on the arm chair in the living room. “Maya, would you go make some tea?” She asked, smiling sweetly at her. Maya smiled back.

“Of course!” her smile changed to a grin and she skipped into the kitchen.

“Make yourself at home boys.” Lee motioned to the couch and they all sat.

“So how did the photo-shoot go?” Kevin asked, lee nodded in response.

“It went really well, Although it was tiring.” she smiled softly when answering his question and then raised an eyebrow when her gaze shifted to Kiesop, who was attempting to peer around the corner to look at Maya in the kitchen.

“So.. uhm.. Do you know if Maya had.. or has, a boyfriend back in the states?” Kiesop asked still trying to get a glimpse of Maya. Lee looked at the boys blankly as they all stared at her. It was obvious they all wanted an answer.

After looking at that, her blank expression shifted to a grin. “No. She doesn't. Nor, has she ever. That girl is pure innocence.”

They all looked at her in shock for a moment before erupting into a unison “WHAT?”

Lee laughed and nodded, “Yup. She's never had a boyfriend, I thought I've told you that? At the restaurant?” She raised an eyebrow at them and then shrugged at the lack of response, “That's why she's been so oblivious to all the little hints you've been giving her, and all the flirting you've been trying out on her.” They all blushed slightly in response to realizing they've all been caught, “'Sides, before you guys even **_think_** about dating her, You'll have to get through me.” she grinned at them half-jokingly.

“Well that shouldn't be too hard.” Taemin stated with a smirk.

“Excuse me? How come?” Lee scoffed.

“You're short.” he stated. The boys erupted in laughter, Lee glared daggers, and Maya came waltzing in with a tray of tea.

“Here you guys go!” Maya smiled softly and handing everyone a cup. She didn't quite know why but they all blushed slightly when receiving it, aside from Lee of course. “So.. What did I miss? I heard yelling” Maya asked innocently. The boys all looked at lee to answer.

“Oh nothing. Just Taemin making fun of me being short.”

Maya puffed out her cheeks in a pout and hugged Lee. “There's nothing wrong with being short.. I'm pretty short too. Tae you're a meanie.”

“You're a cutie!” He instantly replied back before blushing like crazy and covering his mouth with his hands.

In response to Taemin's outburst Minho almost spit out his tea, Key burst out laughing, Kiesop almost choked on his tea, Kevin nodded in agreement, Lee tried to contain her laughter, and Maya hid her blushing face in Lee.

“Oi!” Lee tapped maya on the head, “You can't use me as a shield forever!” she giggled.

“But I'm blushing Lee.. It's not cute when I blush” Maya's muffled voice sounded as she refused to budge.

“She's blushing?” Minho asked surprised.

“Now I gotta see this.” Kevin stated.

“Me too.” Came Key's instant reply.

It was then their life mission to see Maya’s blushing face. It didn't take to long to accomplish. No more that a 40 seconds later Maya was sitting up away from Lee with Key holding one arm and Kevin holding the other.

“Don't look.” Maya ordered looking at the floor and attempting to shield her face with her hair.

Kevin and key let go of her and returned to their seats. They all then looked at maya. Her eyes shifted up and then quickly returned to the floor. “I said don't look.”

The boys all looked at each other and Minho moved towards her. He lightly lifted her head up by her chin and brushed her hair out of her face. “Too late.”

“Aw. Yuck.” Lee stated scrunching her nose at all of them. “You all really shouldn't try to flirt at the same time. It'll only confuse the poor girl more.”

“f-fl-flirt?” Maya stuttered and looked at lee wide eyed, “Who.. who's flirting...?”

“See what I mean? She's oblivious as hell!” Lee laughed. The boys all nodded in response.

Kevin and Kiesop added a shrug while Maya blinked.

“I think it's kind of adorable.” Kevin added looking at Amaya with a soft flirty smile. Lee responded by rolling her eyes.

“You're gonna give the poor girl a heart attack!” She added with a half laugh. “But thank god I don't have to worry about that happening to me,” She mumbled as the boys returned to talking with Maya.

“Did you say something?” Key asked looking at Lee.

“No. No way. That's just your imagination.”

“Fine then,” He said turning back to Maya, who was talking about the first time she played guitar.

Lee let out a sigh looking at the love struck boys around the oblivious, innocent, beautiful girl. She smiled at them all and then retreated to the Craft room. She seated herself in front of her easel and began sketching some outfit ideas for her and Maya. She could hear faint laughter and giggles from the living room and she thought about how she wanted something like that one day.

To be loved by many. Unfortunately for her, she didn't really understand that she already was.

 

“Play us a song.” Kevin smiled at Maya.

“Go get your guitar!” Key grinned.

“Come on! Please?” Taemin pouted.

“uh… okay” Maya smiled standing up and walking into her room to grab her acoustic. The boys all grinned at each other and anxiously waited for her return.

“What should I play?” She asked sitting down and placing her guitar in playing position on her lap. They all blinked and shrugged. “How about Lonely?”

“By 2NE1?” Key asked. Maya nodded.

“I love that song!” Tae exclaimed.

“Lonely it is.” and with that Maya set her capo took a breath and began delicately playing the song while her angelic voice sang the melancholy melody.

The boys all sat there in awe. Taemin had the hugest smile on his face, Key's mouth was agape, Kevin was blinking trying to see if he was dreaming, Kiesop was smiling with his eyes closed swaying to the music, and Minho was trying his hardest not to sweep her up in a gigantic hug.

“Baby I'm so lonely lonely lonely lonely lonely....eh eh.” The last note hung in the air as Maya set down her guitar and looked up at the boys with a tear streaming down her cheek.

Minho reached over and wiped the tear with his thumb and Maya let out a small chuckle as she blushed.

“Sorry, that song gets me every time.”

“Don't apologize.” Key said looking at Maya fondly.

“It was beautiful..” Kiesop smiled.

“Beautiful is an understatement.” Kevin added.

“I have no words.” Tae muttered staring at Maya.

Maya smiled at them all in response and Minho moved to the seat next to her before pulling her into his lap. “I just wanna keep you all to myself.” He whispered in Korean. Maya's face turned bright red and her eyes widened. Minho also turned bright red for a moment before pulling her even closer to him. “I forgot. You speak Korean too.”

“Minho... uhm…I'm uh...” Maya stuttered.

“Shh. Just let me hold you a bit.”

“Minho. What the hell?” Key exclaimed.

“Yah. Seriously.” Kevin added.

“Let her go.” Kiesop growled.

“You haven't won yet, Hyung.” Tae glared.

Minho grinned in response. “Sorry.” his grip loosened as a signal to Maya that she could get up if she wanted. She looked up to the glaring boys and burst into laughter.

“you guys should see your faces!” she slid out of Minho's arms and went to the kitchen. She turned on the sink and opened the fridge to make them think she was busy. She took a deep breath and gripped the side of the sink. “Just why are they acting like this?” she muttered, “My heart's beating like crazy...” She let out a huge breath and closed her eyes only to have Minho pulling her into his arms flash through her mind. The color red returned to her face and her eyes rapidly opened. “they don't like me do they?” she shook her head turned off the water and grabbed a soda from the fridge. “No way...” She muttered before popping open the can and returning to the boys.

She flashed them all a smile and opened her mouth to talk when Kevin's phone went off. He looked around for a minute before answering. His face fell after answering the phone and he hung up with a sigh. “Come on Kiesop. The guys are freaking.” He pulled Kiesop off the couch and leaned down to give Maya a hug. “See you guys later.”

“mmm.. see you” Maya smiled softly and gave both the boys the hugs they wanted before they left.

“You don't think Jonghyun and Onew are going to call us home do you?” Tae asked Minho and Key with a worried look.

“Nope.” Minho smiled, “Key's the one who nags and he's with us.”

In response Key shot him a glare while Tae, Maya, and Minho burst out laughing.

Key opened his mouth to say something when the door opened instead. Hye Mi was walking in looking at a clipboard.

“Maya, dear. I do hope you're still awake.” She flipped a page on her clipboard and started to take off her shoes, “I've got this revised schedule I need t-” she stopped in her tracks when she looked up and into the apartment, “oh.. you've got guests...” her eyes widened and she quickly turned around to try and stop Akki ho from entering the loft. “They're both asleep honey, there's no need to come in I'll just leave the note.. and..” Akki ho pushed her aside and stepped in himself taking off his shoes.

“There's no way Amaya could be asleep, you saw how hyper and bubbly she just wa-” once again a manager stopped mid-sentence and mid-step due to the sight of Minho, Key, and Taemin sitting around Amaya. His eyes narrowed as he looked straight at Amaya. “you have boys over?”

Amaya gulped and opened her mouth to speak when Hye mi came to the rescue.

“Honey, we did ask the boys to keep an eye on them! So they were probably checking on her...” she tugged on Akki's sleeve trying to calm him down, “and they are her Sunbaes.. so she needs to treat them with respect and uh.. get to know them.. and uh.. ask for their advice and stuff...”

Akki brushed Hye mi off his sleeve. “She needs to sleep. She has an audition for a drama tomorrow.”

Amaya jumped out of her seat in pure glee. “An audition!?” she grinned “jeungmal!? Chincha?? Really!?”

Akki's face softened into a smile, “Yes, now get some sleep,” he looked at the boys, “you should all go get sleep as well. I'm sure you have full schedules yourselves.”

With that he slipped on his shoes and walked out the door. Hye mi ran into the living room set down the clipboard and smiled at Amaya, “I'll call beforehand next time,” she said with a wink before departing in a flash.

Key stood up and pulled Maya into a hug. “looks like we need to go, doll.”

“Doll?” she asked raising her eyebrow at him. He shrugged.

“You dress like one.” he smirked and nudged the boys before heading to the door.

Tae jumped up and also pulled her into a hug. “Don't let 'em win.” he let go and smiled at her while she looked at him confused. He grinned and joined key at the door.

Minho stood with a smile. “break a leg at your audition.” he pulled her into a hug as well and she grinned at him afterwards.

“I will, Sunbae.” she smiled sweetly at his shocked and blushing face.

“balli!” came Key's voice from the doorway. Minho smiled at Maya and strolled to the shouting Key. The last thing heard was the click of the door.

“Lee!” Maya yelled.

Lee walked out while stretching. “What?”

“I have an audition for a drama!” Maya grinned at her.

“Congrats girly.” Lee grinned and hugged her.

“Oh! And our managers were here.”

“Dude. Why didn't you tell me?”

“They were here for like a minute! Akki went all scary dad mode... and made the boys leave” she said adding the last bit with a blush.

“Why the blush?”

“They all hugged me for luck.. and Minho blushed..” lee rolled her eyes with a small chuckle.

“That's what happens when you're all cute and oblivious around people.” she yawned and lightly hit Maya's shoulder, “I'ma get some sleep. You should too. Night.”

“night!” Maya smiled back. And with that they both went to their opposite sides and closed their bedroom doors.

Lee closed it with a sigh before changing clothes, turning out the lights and crawling into her bed while Maya closed the door with a grin before changing clothes, flipping the switch and jumping onto her bed.


	9. Gifts and Schedules

Light poured into the room and Amaya's hazel-green fluttered open. She smiled softly, slid out of bed and walked sleepily to the shower. She stripped out of her bedclothes and stepped in the shower with a yawn before preparing herself for the day.

After she was wrapped in a towel with dry hair, makeup on her skin and no contacts she made her way to the closet. She rummaged through the clothes for a while before she found something simple and cute; something that she felt would be all right for a drama audition and an outing in the city.

She pulled on ripped black skinny jeans, and one of those really long off the shoulder shirts that could almost be mistaken for a dress, this particular one had this cute neon abstract pattern over white. She slipped on a new pair of socks and pulled down the knee high white doc martins from the shelf in the closet, she set them down by the front door so she could slip them on when it was time to leave, she then grabbed the jackets from BAP off the couch and placed them on the coat rack by the door. She glanced at Daehyun's jacket and then at her outfit.

“It kinda matches…and it is October…it might be chilly out there..” she looked at the jacket again, “I'll probably wear it.” she shrugged and walked through the living room to the kitchen, grabbing the clipboard in the process.

Her hazel-green eyes looked around the kitchen and soon she had an apron on, the fridge open, mixing bowls out, rice in the cooker and a frying pan heating up on the stove. She pulled out the eggs, milk, ham, and carrots from the fridge and rummaged through the cabinets to find green peppers and the cutting board. She diced up all the vegetables and the ham and stir-fried them in the pan with the newly cooked rice. While that was cooking she cracked the eggs into a bowl, poured in some milk and whipped it together.

Once the filling was finished she poured it into a bowl, re-greased the pan and poured in half the eggs, she watched it carefully and once it was solid enough to start forming any sort of shape she poured half the bowl of filling in and finished shaping it into a nice looking omelet. It was then placed on a plate on the counter and she got to work on the second one.

Once both were cooked she got out the ketchup and lightly squirted some on both. She got out two forks, placed them on the plates and walked to the dinning room.

“Lee! Wake up! I made Omurice!” Maya yelled, placing the plates on the table and then walking back into the kitchen and putting away the left over ingredients real quick. She grinned and looked at the dishwasher. “Thank god I don't have to wash this stuff by hand.” she rinsed out some food residue before placing the dishes she used in the washer. She returned to the dinning room only too see Lee stumbling towards a chair.

“Omurice...” she mumbled before fumbling into her chair and plunging her fork into the egg. Maya giggled and sat in her chair to eat with her.

“Oh…Lee!” Maya said looking up at lee mid meal, “Hye Mi left us our schedules, we should probably look over them when we're done.”

“When we're done?” Lee said looking at her empty plate, “don't you mean when you're done?”

Maya laughed and finished eating as quick as she could without shoving the whole thing in her mouth, she grabbed their plates and started walking towards the kitchen.

“Nice apron by the way!” Lee yelled with a laugh.

“Thanks! I found it!”

“I don't think there's enough neon or stains on it for you!”

“I'll fix that in time don't worry!” Maya yelled back placing the dishes in the dishwasher, closing it up and then starting it. She took off her apron and put it back where she found it before grabbing the clipboard and joining Lee on the couch.

She looked at the first chart and then flipped it up to look at the second. She removed both papers from the clip and handed one to Lee. “Looks…like we have totally different schedules…Audition…then a few interviews... then we both have choreography…then nothing.”

“What the hell is this?” Lee half yelled. Maya looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “All that's written on here is Lessons and choreography.” she let out a sigh and set the schedule on the table, “Looks like I'm going to be bored _all_ day.” she looked at Maya and leaned back, “Any idea what the drama is about?”

Maya shook her head. “No. There's not even a title for the audition written on here...” she looked down at her schedule, “Hye Mi will probably tell me on the way...” her gaze returned to Lee, “I'm excited though.”

“Not even a bit nervous?” Lee smiled. Maya grinned and shook her head. Lee looked at the paper still sitting on the table. “I'm not even sure what lessons is supposed to mean.”

“Maybe Korean? You're not fluent...”

“Ahh... I guess… that's probably it.” she stretched out of the chair and smiled at Maya softly, “I'll be right back I better get dressed.”

She sifted through her clothes while biting her lip. Something simple would do.

A red blouse and a pair of ripped skinny jeans caught her eye. She slipped into them and slipped on a pair of black flats before going into the bathroom to fix her hair. She looked at her various colored contact cases before scrunching her nose and returning to the couch in the living room.

“Lee.” Amaya's tone was flat and her eyes slightly narrowed as she stared at lee's feet.

“What?”

“You're not supposed to wear your shoes in the house…we're in Korea...” she looked up at Lee with a piercing gaze. Lee's hands went up in surrender before she slipped off her shoes and placed them next to Maya's.

“ _My bad_.” she looked at Maya, “we _both_ wore our shoes yesterday.”

“I forgot yesterday!” Maya threw her hands up, “I just…want us to get into good habits.”

Lee laughed, “okay, okay. We'll _both_ remember to take off our shoes from now on then.”

Maya giggled and nodded. “Yeh, Unni.”

“Unni? We're the same age!” lee laughed.

“But you were born first!” Maya giggled, “Every group needs a Maknae.” she grinned. Lee erupted in laughter and began to walk back to the couch when there was a knock at the door.

She turned back around and opened it to a big smiling group of boys who then came tumbling in. “oh…no…that's totally fine…you can all just come right in…” she mumbled walking back to the couch. “looks like we have company.” Maya raised an eyebrow at the boys coming in and exchanged a look with lee.

“It would appear so.”

“Hey.” Jonghyun said looking at the girls.

“We bring gifts!” Eli finished winking at them.

The girls exchanged another look before looking at the boys again. “Gifts?”

“I brought a cake!” Dongho grinned walking to the dining room and putting it on the table.

“I.. got this hairpin.. I thought it would look cute in your hair, Lee...”Hoon blushed and placed a red flower hairpin in lee's hand.

“I got you an outfit, Maya~” Key grinned and waved a shopping bag, “It took forever to get Hye mi to tell me your sizes.” Maya let out a giggle as Key made his way towards Maya's bedroom, “I'll set the bag on your bed, Kay?”

“Neh, that's fine!” Maya grinned.

“I.. thought about getting you chicken.. but uh.. I figured.. these are.. more you.. cause they're all pretty.. and uh..” Onew blushed and held out a bouquet of roses to Lee, who took them with a blush.

“Maya~” Tae chirped grabbing her hand and clasping a bracelet on her wrist, “It matches mine” he smiled at her as she admired the black charm bracelet with various cute neon charms.

“Woow~” she sighed, “it's so cute!” she let out a small giggle and looked up at the smiling Taemin.

“uhm.. here..” AJ mumbled holding out a small gift bag to Lee, “it's a blue necklace..” he blushed looking away, “I got it cause it matched your eyes..” he mumbled.

“Thanks” Lee smiled and took the bag. As soon as she pulled out the necklace her eyes widened and she turned to Maya, “Maya! It's the one I was looking at online!” she looked back up at AJ, “It's perfect!” she held the small silver chain holding the uniquely shaped pendant that matched her eyes up to her neck and started attempting to clasp it in the back.

AJ let out a small chuckle at her fumbling with the clasp before leaning over and clasping it himself. “Glad you like it.”

“I got a necklace too.” Kevin chuckled, “guess I'm not as unique as I thought,” his hand held a little green gift bag and his eyes were on Maya and Maya alone. She took the bag with a smile and a nod and pulled out the necklace from inside. It was a silver key necklace with a green gem embedded into the key's handle.

“omo…” Amaya looked up at Kevin, “It's so cute..”

“Heh... I thought It suited you...” he chuckled clasping the necklace on.

“Well, I got something all girls like.” Jonghyun smiled, “chocolate~” and with that word he dropped a box full of white chocolates onto Lee's lap with a wink.

“Noo. They all like cute things.” Kiesop smiled, “like this” He held out a little wolf stuffed animal to Maya, who automatically fawned over it and gushed about how wolves were her favorite.

Soohyun rolled his eyes and made his way over to Lee. “here.” He held out a cute stuffed animal cat with a bracelet around it's neck as a collar. It was a black chain with various red and white charms, the biggest of which was a red heart. She looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Is this a bracelet?” she unclasped the “collar” and held it up to her wrist. He smiled in return and helped her clasp it with a nod.

Minho stood in front of Maya with his hands behind his back and leaned over close to her face. “I can't really give you what _I_ want to...” He smirked as she blushed, “So, I got this.” he held out a big gift bag. Her eyes widened as she looks up at him.

“What's in it?” Maya asked. He gave her a smile that said “open and find out.” She nodded in response and pulled out the first item that touched her hand. She pulled it out slowly to reveal a silver vine-like frame with a picture of him in it. She looked up at him with a smile, “it's so-”

“There's more.” He interrupted her with a smile. She nodded and reached into the bag to pull out a cute cell phone charm. It had crystal flowers and swirls. It could only be described as “Kawaii!”

“It's so-”

“There's more.” He smiled and she nodded again with a smile. She pulled out the last item, a black felt box with neon paint splatters on it. She looked up at him quizzically before opening it slowly. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers from looking at the contents of the box. Inside was a full jewelry set.

There was a heart shaped locket with an A engraved on the front with a blue jewel in the middle with blue heart drop earrings to match along with a simple blue and silver weaved chain bracelet. She looked up at him as he smiled down at her.

“It's all.. so.. me..” she smiled softly, “but there's a lot of stuff here..i fell kinda ba-”

“Don't. _I_ felt bad…I mean... I missed your birthday.”

“It's alright.” She smiled again, “Thank you everyone for your lovely gifts,” She placed Minho's gifts back into the bag, with the exception of the cell phone charm, and set the bag next to Key's gift. She then picked up her iPhone and attached the charm to the little slot in its case. She walked out of her room with a smile and the phone in her hand. She opened her mouth to say something to all the boys who were happily chatting away when an earsplitting siren filled the room.

Maya rolled her eyes, held open her finger to say one minute, and looked down at the screen that flashed “Manager.” she slid her finger across the screen.

“'ello?” she answered the phone.

“Hello, Dearie. We're outside the building, grab a jacket and get out here.”

“Neh. I'll be out soon.” she heard the click of the phone and turned back to the now silent room.

“Your manager?” Tae asked with a sad smile.

“Neh,” Maya responded grabbing Daehyun's jacket from the rack, “my audition is soon,” She slipped on the jacket and looked up at some glaring boys, “What?”

“Where'd you get that jacket?” Key asked. His tone was flat.

“DaeHyun,” she said looking at them inquisitively.

“You…Got that from... a... guy...?” Kiesop asked clenching his fists.

“Neh.” Maya nodded and slipped her phone in the jacket’s pocket, “Lee got one from bang!” She added, not wanting them all mad at her.

Lee shot her a glare as the boys' eyes went to the other jacket hanging on the wall.

“I got Lee a lesson plan!” Eli jumped in trying to lighten the mood. Her glare switched to him.

“You're teaching me Korean?”

“ _Well I gotta go!_ ” Maya half-yelled as she slipped on her boots without tying them and ran out the door.

“Now you did it.” Minho looked at the boys still glaring at the empty jacket rack. He glared at them all before slipping on his shoes and following her out the door.

He watched as she got half-way down the hall way before stopping and tying her boots.

“Maya!” Minho yelled running down the hall way and catching up to her. She looked up at him mid-way through tying her left shoe.

“Sunbae...” She looked up at him surprised.

“Let me walk you down, You might have fans out there.” He smiled and helped her up. She nodded.

“Yeh.. Sunbae..” She nodded her head and they entered the elevator.

They stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes until Minho turned to her, he opened his mouth to say something when _his_ phone sounded a siren. He softly smiled and then answered his phone, in Korean of course.

“Hello? Neh.. I'm on my way down right now. Neh, I understand it's important. Neh, I will try my best. Neh.” there was a click and Minho smiled at Amaya.

“Your manager?”

“Yeah, I've got an audition today too.” He smiled. Maya's eyes widened and she looked up at him.

“Do you.. Think.. maybe it's for the same drama?”

“I hope so..” he smiled down at her, “Cause that would make you my love interest..” he mumbled just quietly enough so she wouldn't hear.

“hm..Sunbae.. did you say something?”

“Ani.”

There was a ding as the elevator doors opened to the lobby. Minho instinctively pulled Maya behind him and grabbed her hand. He looked around a little bit before stepping out of the elevator and walking towards the front doors of the building. He saw his manager speaking with Hye mi outside of their cars. He also saw the mob of fans being roped off. He looked back at Maya and let go of her hand. That could cause her more trouble.

He looked at her again with a sigh. She was already causing herself a lot of trouble by wearing that jacket.

“Sunbae.” Her sweet voice pulled her out of his thoughts. “Our managers are waiting. Balli.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door. He smiled and stepped ahead of her with one of his long strides. He looked down at her and pulled open the door.

“Ladies first.” His gentle words were almost unheard over all the screaming. Maya let out a giggle and Minho let out a sigh, “how do they always know when we'll be out.” Maya giggled again.

“Dono, Sunbae.” She made her way towards Hye mi with Minho walking behind her.

“Hey, girly.” Hye mi smiled, “Turns out, you guys are going to the same place.”

Maya looked at Hye mi and then to Minho with a grin.

“So, I'm going to go make sure Lee studies well, and I'll leave you with Minho's manager until after the auditions,” She looked at Maya who nodded, “Afterwords Akki will pick you up for interviews.” Maya nodded again. “That Jacket should be an interesting topic...” she raised her eyebrow and then turned to Minho's manager, “Take good care of her.” she looked at Minho as well, “you too.”

They both nodded and Minho placed a hand on Maya's shoulder, “Lets go,” She smiled and slid into the back of the car, Minho did the same, and his manager walked around to the driver seat.

“So, Amaya, did Hye mi tell you anything about the drama?” The manager asked in Korean, Minho was about to say something when Maya touched his leg and responded in Korean as well.

“Ani, I was only told there'd be an audition I figured she'd brief me in the car.”

“ahh.. neh.. guess that makes it my job then.”

“It would be greatly appreciated.”

“This drama revolves around a girl from America, her parents died when she was about 5 and she was adopted to parents in Korea, She lived in Korea until she was about 9 and was then sent back to America for studies while her father worked on their American branch of his company, she comes back in her 2nd year of high school and it's about how she adapts to life in Korea,”

“What's the name..?”

“Alike”

“Who is Minho trying out for?”

“I'm auditioning for one of the main male leads, one of her love interests.” he looked at the wide-eyed Maya with a small smile, “you should tie your shoes we're almost there.”

Up in the loft all was quiet for a few minutes.

Lee was the one to break the silence. “So... you're my tutor...?” Her gaze was fixed on Eli, “my Korean tutor...” He smiled at her softly.

“Yup!” He spun around and looked at the all boys standing in awkward silence, “That's your cue to leave. I've got a lot of work to do.” He started to push them towards the door, “You can come back when we're done.”

“Great...” Lee rubbed the back of her head while muttering under her breath, “It just _had_ to be him...”

Eli raised his eyebrow, “What? You don't want me as your teacher?”

“Ani! That's not it... It's cool Eli, really...” She smiled at him, “So what am I learning first?”

“The Alphabet. What else would you learn first?” He smiled back at her, “Don't worry, It's the easier part for most.”

“Tsk...for most..” Lee mumbled under her breath as they walked to the table and Eli pulled out a notebook.


	10. Auditions and Lessons

Elsewhere, Minho and Amaya were stepping out of the car to enter a studio.

Minho started to walk right in while Maya stood staring at the door. He looked back and hid a chuckle.

“Nervous?” He asked. Maya gulped, shook her head, and pushed past him.

“This sign says first round auditions for girls are on the right, you need to go left.”

“Break a leg.”

“Neh... You too, sunbae.” She spun on the ball of her foot and ran down the hallway.

White doc martins slid to a stop in a sea of heels. Dozens of pairs of brown eyes met a single pair of widened hazel-green eyes.

Maya took a breath and then smiled softly with a bow. This received an extremely mixed reaction. Heads turned away, jaws dropped, smiles were shared, glares were given, and few bows were returned. She took a seat and an older lady stepped out of an adjoining room. She held a big stack of papers and started handing them out.

It was a small sample script that they would be reading when they're name was called. She smiled to each girl as she handed them the paper, and while she did smile at Maya, she also looked rather confused to see her.

Maya smiled softly back and took her script to read it over.

Meanwhile Lee sat uncomfortably in the dining room chair with Eli hovering over her explaining the characters for the 3rd time.

“Do you understand it now?”

“uh.. Yeah.. I guess..” She scratched her head and tapped her pen against the paper.

“alright then..” Eli bit his lip, “Lets move on to some important phrases then..”

 

“Amaya Serene.”

Hazel-green eyes looked up from a printed script to meet the wandering eyes of the lady with a clipboard peeking out of a nearby door.

Amaya stood up with elegance and smiled at the woman.

Her acting would start now.

No one is ever confident in an audition. But if you don't come off as confident you wont land the job.

That logic was how she was able to keep her head high and not be swayed from the looks she was receiving from the other girls in the waiting area, and that was how she was able to confidently deal with the next situation at hand.

She stepped inside the room to stand in front of a panel of judges who looked at her quizzically.

“We...” a rather smug looking Korean woman seated in the middle looked around at her panel before continuing her sentence, “Were expecting Korean girls.”

“Why?” Maya looked at the smug woman with a smug smile slowly tugging at her lips.

“Well… The storyline...” A man on the edge started to say.

“Nowhere in the storyline does it say she needs to be of Korean birth.” The smile broke through and she looked fiercely at the panel, “The heroine is a girl adopted from America to Korean parents, she is moved to Korea only to be moved back to America soon after for schooling, it follows her in her junior year of high school where she has to deal with typical teenage issues on top of being treated as a foreigner in a country she considers her own. In the country that took her in when the rest of her life was falling apart.” She looked directly at the woman in the middle, “Tell me where in your story it says she can't look the part of a foreigner.”

“My... My... Story?” The woman stuttered.

“Yes, Your story. You're the writer aren't you?”

“Yes... but how did you..?” she was stunned and the rest of the panel turned to look at her.

“I think it's a good idea.” A younger looking man on the end smiled at Amaya.

“You're one of the directors.” Maya smiled.

“You're one smart cookie. If you can act...” He raised an eyebrow at her, “There's no doubt you'll have my vote for the part.”

“Thank you.” Maya bowed her head, “does that mean we can continue with the reading now?”

 

“I don't get it!” Lee threw her arms up in the air and a black pen went flying across the room. Eli stifled a laugh and went to fetch it.

“Then I'll explain it again. Relax... you'll get it.”

 

“ ** _We aren't that different!_** ” Amaya's yell practically echoed throughout the building. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she shook her head. Her whole body trembled, her hands were in tight fists, and her eyes were fixed on the man standing across from her. He was her reading partner.

Not that she could even tell right now.

When she was acting…She _wasn't_ acting. She _was_ that character.

“Don't tell me we aren't different...” Her partner turned away from her and she took a step towards him. Her hand arm reached out to grab him before it fell limp by her side. Her eyes dropped to the floor with her tears.

“Then at least tell me how we are…” She choked out her words before her head snapped up as he turned around. Tears still rolled down her cheeks, and her body still shook, but her eyes held something new. She looked at him with her hazel-green eyes tinted blue and full of emotion. They begged for reasoning, they longed for love, and they demanded attention with a fierce intensity. “Tell me... How I'm any different from you.”

Maya blinked once. Blinked again. And then wiped the tears from her face. She turned to look at the judges who were all sitting there with their mouths agape.

“That's the end of the dialog you gave me...”

“That... was...”

“ **Camera Ready!** ” The director shouted standing up and clapping. “I think I'm done with auditions. I've made up my mind.” He started walking towards the door and stopped at Maya, “kid.” He put a hand on her shoulder, “I'd use you for anything I’ll ever direct.” He smiled at her shocked face, “Well, you probably have a hectic schedule, and this is the end of your audition so, go make your calls and be on your way.” He started walking past her to the door before he turned to look at her again, “Also, your Korean is... _Flawless_ ” He winked and said flawless in English before departing.

Maya turned to the rest of the panel and bowed a goodbye before exiting the room. Many girls stood up when she walked up and looked at her extremely surprised. She smiled and bowed to them before walking to the nearest restroom and fixing her slightly smudged makeup.

She walked to the entrance where she and Minho had split ways and pulled out her phone. The crystal flowers clinked against the case, she slid it open with a familiar click and dialed a number almost automatically.

“Hello?” She asked into the phone, Hye Mi's sunny voice filled her ear. “Neh, I just finished my audition,” She smiled, “Neh, it went really well... Ani... I'm going to go find Sunbae and say goodbye... neh... call me when you're here... neh.” There was a small click and Maya lowered her phone. She turned down the boy's hallway.

For a short while all she could hear was the soft sound of her doc martins hitting the tile floor. Then all she could hear was boys roughhousing. She chuckled as she approached the laughing boys.

Her eyes scanned the waiting room for Minho.

“Uhm.. Excuse me?” Maya said softly, her voice was almost drowned out by their loudness but somehow they all seemed to have heard her.

How could she tell?

Well. They all froze.

“Is Minho in the audition room?” she asked them with a small smile. Many of them remained frozen, few nodded, and one spoke up.

“Are you his girlfriend?

“Eh!?” Maya asked with a blush. The boy laughed in return.

“Yeah he's in there... He should be out soon... You're talking about Choi Minho right?”

“Ah.. Neh.. Thanks.” Maya smiled at him and then leaned against the nearest wall. She looked down at her shoes and waited for the noise level to rise again. When it didn't she looked up only to meet a bunch of brown eyes. “Don't mind me!” Maya laughed nervously and fixed her bangs. She placed her hands in her pockets and looked out towards the hallway. The noise level slowly increased and then got extremely loud when the door clicked open. The boys were screaming and whistling. Maya could make out a few things they yelled but not really that many. There was only one that was clear as day.

“Yah! Choi Minho! Your girlfriend is here!”

Maya pushed off the wall and turned to look at Minho who was standing in shock at the door. She held back a laugh for a good tenth of a second before bursting out into her adorable, musical laugh.

“Maya...” he stood in front of her now, “Why are you laughing?”

“You.. should have seen your face, sunbae.” She grinned up at him.

“Ahh... how disappointing, she calls you sunbae. It should be Oppa~ Or your name. You know she called your name earlier.” The boy who asked if Maya was his girlfriend spoke up.

“Minho?” Maya asked, tilting her head, “would you prefer if I called you Minho? I just thought sunbae was more appropriate cause we both work for SM and all...” Maya started to trail off.

“You work for SM?” The boy asked.

“Neh,” Maya smiled, “I probably should have formally introduced myself earlier... But Hi, I'm Amaya Serene from 43ver the flaw.” The boy's eyes widened.

“That new girl group?” he looked at Minho then to me, “Wait! Are you the blue bike or the red? I've only seen those pictures!”

“Blue~” Maya grinned, “There should be other pictures out if you look for them.”

“Hyung!” The boy grinned at Minho, “You're dating the _blue_ biker girl! You're **_lucky_**!”

“We.. aren't dating..” Both Minho and Maya said in sync with a blush.

“I've never even had a boyfriend..” Maya rubbed the back of her head, “but.. uh.. anyway.. I just came to say bye, I've got to go to my interviews soon..” She mumbled under her breath to Minho. He was about to respond when the boy spoke up again.

“Wait.. That jacket!” His eyes widened again.

“This?” Maya lifted her arm, and the boy nodded, “It's DaeHyun's I've gotta return it soon.”

“You're friends with B.A.P? That new rookie group that's coming out?”

“I helped choreograph B.A.P.” Maya grinned, “Let me know what you think when you see 'em.” She turned to Minho, “I hope you did as well as I did in your audition, It'd be fun to work with you.” A siren came from her hand and she smiled as she answered it. “Hello, Neh, I'm on my way out!” She looked at Minho and the boy, “Hye Mi's outside, Take care!” She yelled running down the hallway still on her phone.


	11. Mischief and interviews

“Let me take a _break!_ ” Lee whined at Eli, as she laid on the couch.  
“No.” He narrowed his eyes at her, “Get up and get to work.” He took a step towards her, “I'll move you if I have too.” Lee's eyes narrowed in response.  
“If you pick me up... You will be sorry.” They glared at a few moments before Eli scooped her up and set her in front of the table littered with paper and pens. “You just made your life a living hell.” Lee smiled sweetly at Eli. He shuddered at the conflicting vibes he just received.  
“Now repeat after me... Ahn-”  
“No.”  
“Ahn-”  
“I don't want to.”  
“Ahn-nong”  
“Noo way~”  
“ **Fine.** ” Eli threw his hands in the air. “Copy this then.” He handed lee a paper that she began to copy, it would take her a minute tops. Which is why when she was half-way done she laid on the table and threw her pen in the air.  
“I give!” She yelled.  
“What?” Eli looked at her dumbfounded when she threw the notepad with her half-written notes at his face.  
“Li-ving hell~” She grinned at him as she sat up. “Shoulda gave me my break. Pabo.”  
“ **Ha!** ” Eli yelled, “You just spoke Korean!”  
“Yes... And what did I say?” She smiled evilly.  
“You called me an idiot!” He responded quickly before face palming, “Great.. so you know insults.”

Amaya was sitting in a makeup chair having people fussing over her like crazy, arguing on if she needed more eyeliner, less eye shadow.. blah blah. And she was, surprisingly getting annoyed.  
“Would you like her to change?” Someone asked her manger. Hye mi nodded her head with a smile.  
“Is that alright with you Maya?” Hye mi turned towards her, “That jacket might be a little controversial.”   
Maya nodded with a nervous smile, “I'd like it if I could wear these shoes though..” The stylist looked at her with a smile.  
“That can be arranged.” 

Somehow, someway, Lee had managed to con Eli into letting her have a break. The most probable theory was that _he_ needed a break.  
“I will be _right_ back. I need to go get some more supplies.” Eli looked at lee with eyes that said 'don't cause trouble.' She smiled back with eyes that said 'of course.'  
Honestly she wasn't _planning_ on causing him trouble. She was _planning_ on laying on the couch. But _apparently_ she wasn't allowed.   
There was a knock on the door just as she had laid on the couch. She was lazy. And she didn't want to go open the door. So, Naturally she yelled.  
“ _ **If I know you, you can come in. If I don't Knock... five times**_!” The door opened slowly and Onew peeked his head in.  
“You probably shouldn't do that..” He half mumbled.  
“What tell people to come in if they know me?” Lee grinned. Onew smiled back.  
“Yup, how are you?”  
“ _Dying_!” Lee flailed her hands in the hair with a sigh, “I'm hungry, and being forced to learn.”  
“You're hungry?” Onew's face brightened up and lee nodded sadly, “Wanna come get chicken with me?” Lee pounced off the couch and leapt into Onew's arms, giving him probably the biggest hug she'd ever given.  
“I love you!” She yelled releasing him and sliding to the door to put on shoes, “Now, lets hurry before Eli get's back!”   
Onew jumped off the couch with a nod, and blush before sliding on his shoes and grabbing Lee's hand and running out the door to the elevator.

Amaya stood silently just off the set waiting for her cue. Her makeup artists stared at her in awe, and her stylist looked her up and down several times to make sure everything was situated just right.  
And it was. They had decided to keep her in her doc. Martins and ripped skinny jeans but they traded her abstract neon shirt and B.A.P jacket for something slightly more fitted, but equally as bad ass.   
A pure white fitted long tank hugged her torso and flared out a tad to cover her ass in an asymmetrical fashion; An electric blue flower rose from the right corner of the tank giving it a blooming effect. Black and silver chains hung from her hidden belt loops and the sheik fitted leather cropped jacket.   
Her long hair extended past the length of her black jacket, it's electric blue under layer popped out due to contrast and drew attention to it's length, perfect straightness, shine and smoothness. Her slanted electric bangs were brushed to the side, and her hazel green eyes watched everything intently. Her eyes were another point one was drawn to. Not only were they beautiful in color but they were framed with thick eyelashes, and, at the moment, thick black eyeliner that drew out the color more than expected. Her pink glossed lips parted slightly in a smile and she stepped on to the set.

Lee and Onew wandered the streets surrounding the SM apartments. Surprisingly, Onew had no idea where he was going even though they were looking for chicken.  
They wandered for a while. Lee would gaze at the scenery while Onew would gaze at her, even though he was supposed to be looking for a restaurant.  
“Onew!” Lee screamed out of nowhere, he jumped in response and looked at her, she was standing with a huge grin on her face and her finger pointing at a place with chicken on the sign. “Look!” She grabbed his hand and dragged him inside  
They stood at the counter, Onew looked at lee as she cutely tried to make out the korean words and their meanings on the menu. He let out a chuckle and opened his mouth to explain the menu when a fan screamed.  
“IT'S ALEERA AND ONEW!”   
Then came the mob. Lee took a deep breath to try and calm her anxiety due to the mass of people surrounding her. She smiled politely and took pictures and signed autographs as Onew did the same. Eventually they died down and Lee could finally take a real breath of air. Onew chuckled at her, explained the menu and then ordered for them.  
Their food finished quickly and they sat down to eat.

Eli walked into Amaya and Lee's apartment, “Lee, I'm back!” He yelled into the empty house.  
He set his bag on the table and peaked into rooms in search of Lee. “Lee!” he called. Still no reply. His search came up empty. “Aish..” Eli let out a breath and ran his fingers through his hair, “She really is going to be a real handful.” He looked around the house again with his eyes, “Where could she have gone anyway?”

Applause. Lots of applause. Roaring Applause. A flashing applause sign. That was what hit Amaya first as she walked on to the set. She smiled at the audience and the camera then turned to her smiling host who offered her a seat.   
Amaya sat and the applause died down. Formalities were exchanged and the interview began.   
“I heard it's always been your dream to be an idol here in Korea how does it feel to finally be here?”   
“Neh. Being here is my dream and it feels so unreal, but I know it hasn't even fully started yet. Lee and I are both filled with so much excitement, anxiety and pure happiness. We really love it here.”  
Maya's host bit her lip at the mention of Lee. Amaya was the one they booked. Not both.  
“That's so good to hear! I'm glad Korea is treating you well! And I'm sure we can all see what you mean by it hasn't fully started yet. I've heard your schedule is packed!” The host had to pause as the audience roared at the mention of her schedule, “Can you tell us about it?” The audience roared again. Maya let out a small giggle just as the camera panned in on her.   
“I'm not sure if I can really disclose all that much,” she gave her host an award-winning smile, “But, I will tell you that today I auditioned for a drama, and I'd say I did pretty well,” The audience was excited again, “Aside from that I've really just been getting to know all the other members of SM.” There they went again. The host cracked a smile.  
“Speaking of SM members, a little birdie told me you're really close with some boys of the company.” There went the audience. Maya blushed slightly, but quickly recovered with a smile.  
“Lee and I have both become fairly close with the members of SHINee and Ukiss. They share the loft below us and helped us get unpacked and settled in.” She paused for the crowd, “We all even celebrated our birthday together.” the host paused this time.  
“Ahh that's right! You and lee share a birthday!”   
“Neh!”  
“Well, did the boys get you any presents?”  
“Oh boy did they!” Maya let out a giggle, “They went overboard even though we told them not to get us anything!” The audience awed.   
“Did you get anything from your fans?”  
“Not that I know of!” there was a lot of screaming from the audience.   
“Sounds like they sent you things”  
“How sweet of them! I'm sure we'll get them soon and use them well.” the audience roared again. And the interview continued.

Minho smiled at the video streaming on his tablet. He sat in the back of his manager's car. His breath stopped when they panned in on her giggling face. He smiled at the mention of the drama, he hoped they'd work together. He smiled at her blush, there's no doubt he believed she was thinking about him.   
His manager looked at him through the rearview mirror with a raised eyebrow. “What are you grinning about?”   
Minho's head snapped up with a small blush.  
“That girl?”   
Minho's face flushed again and his head snapped back down to look at the tablet. His manager let out a chuckle, “Finally interested in girls, eh?”  
“I've been interested in them before!” Minho's head snapped up again.  
“No. You've been involved with girls, because you were told to.”   
Minho fell short of words and silence filled the air for a few minutes. “She's different..”  
“Well. She is something.”

Maya's interview continued with Hye Mi watching over from backstage. She was worried about Lee and if her idiot husband was checking on her. She knew she should have stuck to the plan and had akki take maya to the interview. But she was too damn worried about that BAP jacket.   
How did this girl manage to get so many _famous_ male admirers so quickly?   
Hye Mi bit her lip and dialed her phone. “Akki, have you checked on Lee yet?”  
“I'm about to!”  
“What do you mean you're about to? What could have possibly been more important that you haven't yet?”  
“I was called out.”  
“For what?”  
“Setting their debut date.”  
“What? Really? The concert date?”  
“Yes.”  
“Well.. fine... just go check on Lee.”  
“Ariso. Ariso.”  
“Now.” Hye Mi hung up the phone and turned her attention back to the screen. At least she knew Amaya was doing well. And their concert date would be set soon.

Onew and Lee wandered around after finishing their food. They were silent while the world boomed around them. You'd think a silent walk like that would be awkward, but it wasn't. It was that type of comfortable silence you feel in good company. Lee could feel Onew's eyes on her occasionally and would try to catch him in the act, but he was rather good at nonchalantly staring ahead.  
But his eyes were on her as often as he could get away with. He admired this girl, not for her exotic blonde hair and blue eyes, but for the way she didn't try to impress others. Lee and Amaya always acted like a normal person, and never treated anyone like they were below them. They respected and acted grateful for all the attention, love, affection and help they received from others.  
He missed being able to feel that way, to not feel above or below someone. And to think of all others as equals. He smirked just thinking about it.   
This time Lee caught his look. “What's that smirk for?” Her voice drew him out of his thoughts like a welcome dawn after a dark night.  
“Nothing!” He smiled at her and her raised eyebrow.   
“Sure it is.” She rolled her eyes, sarcasm dripped off of her voice and they continued walking the streets of Seoul.


	12. Parks and acoustics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I realized since i didn't arhive warnings I should forwarn everyone that I use some "mature/harsh" language. In all of my stories.
> 
> quite honestly i cuss like a sailor.

Meanwhile, Ring ding dong filled the SHINee loft as their landline rang. Taemin and Key looked at Jonghyun to answer the phone. He gave them a look that screamed, _'are you kidding me?'_ and they answered with a shrug that said, _'you're closer._ '   
He let out a sigh and answered the phone promptly. “What?”  
 _“don't what me Jonghyun! You know better.”_ The stern voice of their manager sounded through the phone. Jonghyun smirked. _“Wipe that smirk off your face.”_ Jonghyun held the phone out at arms length and looked at the phone and at then Key and Taemin.  
 _“How the fuck?”_ he mouthed to them before returning the phone to his ear.  
 _“Where's Onew?”_  
“Dono. He left a while ago and hasn't come back.”  
 _ **“Are you serious? You don't know where he is?”**_ Their manager was screaming so loudly Jonghyun had to hold the phone away from his ear, **_“Are you joking with me? You really don't know where he is?”_** Taemin and Key were leaning in to hear their manager's screams, although they didn't have to lean too far, _**“Go find him before I get there.”**_  
“Yes, sir!” Jonghyun gulped. There was a click before he ran to put on his shoes and jacket. “He is so scary when he's pissed.”  
“Good luck, hyung!” Taemin chirped as Jonghyun opened the door.  
“Oh shut up, Manake.” He walked out the door and slammed it shut. “Shoulda made him answer the phone.” He mumbled as he ran to the elevator and then out the apartment building.

It took a while for Jonghyun to find Onew and Lee. Perhaps it was because they were in such a peculiar place; a craft store. Lee was giggling at Onew holding masks up to his face and trying to make her try on a few as well.   
Jonghyun didn't like this picture. At all. Actually, he was jealous, and angry. It wasn't allowed. He was going to change it. He looked at Lee to put a smile on his face before waltzing up to them. “Onew, Lee!” his smile turned into a grin, “I finally found you.”  
“Hey, Hyun! What are you doing here?” Lee asked curiously.  
“I had to find Onew,” He smiled at lee sweetly before turning to Onew, “The manager wants you back at the apartment before he gets there, so I'd suggest you hurry.” Onew nodded.  
“Alright, then,” he turned to lee, “I guess I'll take you home with me then.”  
“Oh no.” Jonghyun flashed Onew his teeth, “She's comin' with me.” He intertwined his hand with hers and started out of the shop. “see ya!” he yelled before pulling her behind him and leaving Onew standing there dumbfounded with a white mask on his face.

The two of them ended up at some kind of park with a lot of fountains. And I mean a _lot_ of fountains. There were fountains spurting out of the ground normal fountains, pool looking fountains. Just _a lot of fountains_.  
Lee looked around in awe at the various sparkling waters, as well as the patches of flowers and grass. A soft smile spread on her face. “This place is so pretty”  
Jonghyun smiled at her with a nod, and they began strolling. They came upon one of the pool like fountains and an evil smile spread across Lee's face. She took a step to place Jonghyun between the fountain and herself before giving him a strong push into the fountain. He let out a short yell that was cut off due to his submersion in the water. He shot up with a gasp and wiped the water out of his eyes before looking at Lee with a half smirk.  
“What in the world was that for?” He raised his eyebrow and gave her a look suggesting alternative motives.  
“It just seemed like a good time to do it!” She giggled looking over him sitting in the pool of water. He shot her a quick wink before grabbing her hand and pulling her into the water.   
Her scream was louder. As was her splash, due to the fact that she tried to resist falling with every limb of her body. She also came up with a gasp. But she wasn't the only girl who gasped.   
Blingers were standing by. Drooling at their idol who was soaking wet and giggling at this girl. They opened their mouths to announce it to the world when he put his finger to his lips and winked. None of them could resist complying to his suggestion. But they also couldn't resist whipping out their phones and taking a picture of the blushing girl pouting at their love, Jonghyun, and posting it to their tumblr, twitter, facebook, instagram and such. #Jonghyun'sgirlfriend?

Akki stood in the girl's apartment tapping his foot impatiently at Eli. “Where is Lee?”  
Eli stood with a red bull in his hand and his eyebrow raised at Akki, “Dono.”   
“What do you mean you don't know?”  
“Well, I went to get supplies and when I came back she was gone.”  
“And you didn't look for her?” Akki's tone was no longer impatient and stern. It was pissed.  
“Hey! Hey! I looked! I just figured she went with one of the boys and she'd come back soon!” Eli raised his hand in defense when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out with a shrug as he opened his tumblr app. “Uh... Found her...” He stared at the picture of Lee and Jonghyun laughing soaking wet in a fountain with the caption _'jonghyun's got a girlfriend!??!?'_ Akki snatched the phone out of Eli's hand and barely got out the word “crap” before an earsplitting siren sounded from his pocket.  
“We're screwed.” He whispered before sliding the screen that read 'wife' and placing the phone to his ear, preparing for the worse.

Maya's interview was going swimmingly and they were on to questions from her fans.  
“This fan asks, 'Amaya, would you ever date a fan?'” her host smiled and Maya let out a giggle.  
“I think whoever I date would _have_ to be a fan.” the host raised her eyebrow, “You see I love my music, it's my life. It's the one part of me that I really really love. So if I was to ever date someone who didn't love that part of me, I don't think I'd be able to take it. It's my life. Whoever I date.. I think they'd have to be a fan. So yes. Always.”  
“Even if it was another Idol?”  
“What would be wrong with another Idol being a fan?” Maya raised her eyebrow, “We are the same as everyone else. So yes. Of course.”  
“What about someone from SHINee or Ukiss?”   
Amaya laughed. Her musical laugh filled the room and she smiled at her host. “They are fans.”  
“They are? How do you know?”  
“I sang for them, and if they weren't before,they are now.” She giggled again, “I did it to thank them for their gifts. Lets just say they'll buy all 43ver the Flaw's albums, just like I buy all of Ukiss' and SHINee's albums.” Her host smiled.  
“Would you sing for us?” The audience went wild and Amaya flashed that award-winning smile.   
“I'll sing the same one I sang for them, but only if you have an acoustic.” Amaya was handed a guitar and given a stool and a microphone. She positioned herself smiled once more and then began the delicate finger plucking.   
Then her voice soared with the audience.

Hye Mi smiled as Amaya won over the audience with her raw vocals and acoustic sound. Her phone vibrated in her hand and she slid it open to her tumblr. Her jaw dropped and she excused herself to take care of the situation. She dialed her husband's number and tapped her foot impatiently while it rang.   
“He better not make me wait more than one ring.” She hissed under her breath right before she heard the click.  
“ _Honeyy._ ”  
“Don't 'honeyy' me,” She hissed into the receiver, “How the Hell could you let this happen?”  
“ _I_ ”  
“No. You didn't do anything You didn't do what I told you. Do you see what happens when you don't do what I tell you?” She was pacing outside, “This is a wreck. Do you know what could happen if we don't handle this properly? Do you know what could happen if it isn't true?”  
“ _I_ ”  
“Do you know what could happen if it _is_ true?” This time she did pause for his response and he had no words, “Of _course_ you don't. I suppose I'll just handle it all when I get there because you are _incapable_.”   
“ _Honey I.._ ”  
“I hope you don't think you're sleeping in the bed tonight.” Hye Mi hung up the phone and walked back into the studio. She glanced at her watch impatiently. At least the interview was almost over.  
“tsk. Incompetent husbands.” Hye mi muttered under her breath before checking her watch once more.

“ _eh eh.._ ” Maya's last notes echoed through the studio, a tear drop fell to the guitar and all was silent for a moment while she wiped away a tear. She flashed everyone her award-winning smile and they erupted into applause.   
“Amaya that was just...breathtaking.”   
“thank you.”  
“Were you crying?” Maya let out a small laugh.  
“Yes. That's what I do... that's what Lee does. We pour our hearts and soul into any music we preform, and that's one thing that makes 43VER the FLAW so great.”  
And with that the show closed and Maya left the set to change. She had just slipped on her shirt and was maneuvering her way into Daehyun's jacket when Hye Mi came barging in.  
“Oh good! You're dressed. Let's go!” Hye mi grabbed Maya's arm that was already in the jacket and pulled her along while she attempted to get her other arm in the jacket.  
“Why are we in such a hurry? Do I have another appointment? I thought choreography wasn't till later!” Maya had finnally righted herself and was walking side by side with Hye Mi, who was still gripping her arm.  
“It's Lee.”  
“What about Lee? Her schedule is cle-” She stopped mid-sentence and froze, “Oh my god. Did something happen to her?” She took off running to the car and hopped into the driver's seat herself. “Where are we going?”   
“I don't know. A park with a fountain? She was with Jonghyun.” Hye Mi looked concerned sitting and sat in the passenger seat. Maya whipped out her phone connected to to the car and dialed Minho's number. She started the engine and buckled her seatbelt.   
“I'm sorry, Hye Mi. but I'm faster.” The phone rang and Maya punched the gas.   
“ _Hello?_ ”  
“Sunbae. I need you to give me directions to the park with fountains. The one Jonghyun oppa goes to. I need directions from down town. And I need them fast.” Maya's voice was clear, crisp and urgent. She followed his directions almost faster than he gave them to her while Hye Mi held on to the safety handle for dear life.


	13. Wet clothes and arguments

The car screeched into park and Maya ran out of the car at lightning speed. “ **Lee!** ” Maya called Lee's name as she ran to the middle of the park.   
Hye mi slowly came out of the car. She was shaking but she soon shivered it away and walked in the direction Maya went. “Maybe the kid could be a manager...She's got the temper for it.” She muttered as she caught up to Maya.  
“Lee!” Maya finally caught sight of her and Jonghyun splashing each other in a fountain. “Are you insane?” maya stepped into the fountain and trudged her way to her band mate. “I was worried sick you bitch!” She tackled her into the water and was soon pulled under herself. They both came up laughing.  
“You bitch.” Lee laughed. Maya threw her head back in laughter and pulled her soaked butt out of the fountain.  
“Daehyun's gonna kill you.”  
“Me?” Lee laughed following Maya out.  
“Yeah. You got his jacket wet.”   
“I did?”  
“yeah! you did!” Hye mi came running up shaking her head.  
“maybe not..” she muttered. “You girls are soaked.”   
“ **Maya!** ” A voice sounded through the park as Minho came running towards them. “you wern't answering your phone...” He panted.  
“Sunbae..” That was all Maya managed to get out before being pulled into Minho's arms, “I'm soaked...” She mumbled.  
“I don't care.” Minho pulled her closer to him, “I was worried sick.”  
“Uh... Gross.” Lee and Jonghun screamed into their ears. Maya jumped but minho didn't budge.  
“Sunbae... I'm sorry.. I won't worry you like that again..”  
Hye Mi awkwardly stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before grabbing Lee's ear with one hand and JongHyun's with the other. “You two are coming with me. You are in big trouble.” she gave them both an evil glare tightened her grip and then looked at Minho. “Take her home safely. And don't cause a scene.” Hye mi's words seemed to have snapped him out of his worry and he slowly let go of Maya and nodded at hye mi. “Oh and take your phone.” she nodded her head towards her jacket pocket with the cell phone charm sticking out. Maya slid it out with a nodd and then turned back to minho as Hye Mi dragged the other two towards the car.  
“The car is parked over this way..” Minho mumbled leading the way for Maya.  
“Sunbae..”  
“Oh that's right!” Minho exclaimed stopping in his tracks and turning to the confused girl, “Why do you call me sunbae and Jonghyun Oppa?”   
“Oh! That's-” She was cut off by the sound of Warrior being played through her speakers. “Hello?”  
“ _hey, doll._ ”  
“Daehyun oppa?” Maya smiled slightly while Minho scowled at her use of oppa.  
“ _oppa? I like it. You still have my jacket right?_ ”  
“Yeah, when do you need it back?”  
“ _probably soon. I wish I could let you keep it.. but my manager is freaking.. Bang needs his too, can I swing by and grab 'em tonight?”_   
Maya looked at her wet clothes and the wet jacket, “Uhm.. sure..”  
 _“Great, then I'll be seeing you soon.”_  
“Neh.. Bye Oppa...”  
“You call Daehyun oppa, too?”  
“Yeah.. Uhm.. I'm going to run by a dry-cleaning place.. i'll meet up with you at the apartments..” maya started to run off but Minho grabbed her arm and let out a breath of air to calm himself. He couldn't let this get to him.  
“i'll take you, but lets get you out of those wet clothes first, I have some extra stuff in the car, Key always makes us bring extra clothes everywhere..”  
“But... You're so tall...” maya looked at herself and then to Minho.   
He opened the trunk anyway and handed her a bag of clothes.   
“Go change,” He motioned to the bathrooms and Maya let out a sigh. Maybe she could belt his shirt or something..

Lee let out a sigh. She sat in the backseat of Hye mi's car next to Jonghyun. A quick glance up would reveal the burning glare of her fierce manager in the rearview mirror. But even without the glance you could feel the rage emanating from her entire being.   
Lee was engulfed in sheer terror. She had never _once_ seen Hye Mi this angry. Her eyes shifted up ward for half a second, she caught the glare and jerked her head down. Her eyes were locked on the floor and her lips were zipped shut.  
Jonghyun's eyes shifted from the floor to Lee just as her eyes shifted from the floor to the window. It was almost perfectly in sync.   
They both were brooding in the thought of the trouble they were going to get in, but Jonghyun _knew_ that they would be in trouble if they were caught. He felt bad that he had gotten Lee in so much trouble, granted, he didn't think they'd get caught. He let out a sigh, looked at the floor and then at lee again. “Crap..” he muttered under his breath, thinking of the distress he caused Lee.  
“Did you say something, Jonghyun?” Hye mi's voice was loud inside the silent car and her eyes locked with his in the rearview mirror for a second.  
“No, Ma'am!” He responded quickly and broke eye contact as they pulled up to the apartment building. They exited the car silently and proceeded to the loft the exact same way.   
Once they were all inside and they had all removed their shoes Hye mi pointed to the couch. Lee made a B-line to it and Jonghyun followed her lead. He was about to sit comfortably next to her when hye mi cleared her throat.  
“You.” Her eyes locked with Jonghyun's, “Sit there.” She pointed to the other couch across from Lee. He nodded and followed his orders.  
Eli and Akki were in the kitchen talking when they came in. They both peaked around the corner to catch a glimpse of the fuming manager. The word 'fuming' is used lightly. Why? Well, it doesn't even come close to describing Hye mi at that moment. It was worse than PMS. It was worse than _anyone_ had ever seen her.  
“Eli...” Akki put his hand lightly on his shoulder, “Go to your dorm.” Akki started to lead him out.  
“But I want to see what happens!” Hye mi shot him a look. One straight from hell. He gulped and nodded. “Yup. Time to go!” He grabbed his things from the dinning room table and locked eyes with the worried Lee. “Good luck,” he mouthed before rushing out the door.  
Akki made his way to his wife. She didn't greet him. She _always_ greeted him. The silence made everything worse. Hye mi's eyes were locked on Lee.  
“How _could_ you, Aleera?” Her voice was shrill and loud in the silent loft. Lee's was looking at the ground, silent as a grave. “I am talking to _you_ , Aleera! **Answer me!** ” Lee's head shot up.  
“I wanted to take a break!” She fiddled with her fingers.  
“A break? _A break_? From your _scheduled_ lesson? You just _decided_ you could take liberty and run off with Jonghyun? Where was Eli?” Hye mi _clearly_ was not happy with her answer.  
“He left to get supplies.” Hye mi's eye brows were raised, “I laid on the couch and Jonghyun came in and got me.” She left out Onew fearing for the poor boy's life. Hye Mi turned to Jonghyun.  
“Do you know what you two have done?”   
“Yes, Ma'am I do.”  
“Knowing what kind of situation you could be put in, that _Aleera_ could be put in, you still did it?” Jonghyun nodded.  
“Why..” Lee hesitated, “Why is this such a big deal?”  
“Do you have any idea what fans are like?” Hye mi was practically screaming and Akki placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her.  
“Fans here are a little more extreme, Aleera. You two are also in the same company and if things go badly between the two of you that can cause a lot of problems with your career, with _both_ of your careers. Also it's a _huge_ publicity deal. _Huge_. Rarely are these sort of tabloid stories good for any relationships or reputations. That's why idols tend to keep their relationships secret. _Plus,_ this whole thing could be a _huge_ misunderstanding and you two _aren't_ dating. But now _everyone_ , and I do mean _everyone_ thinks you are.”  
“Look I honestly didn't thi-” Jonghyun began to explain when he was yanked up by his manager.  
“I'm gonna need to take this troublemaker back.” His manager was already starting towards the door.  
“Hey!” Hye mi yelled, “ **Hey!** I wasn't done with him!”  
“I've got it under control.” The door clicked shut and Hye mi pinched the bridge of her nose and turned to Lee.   
“I need to clean this mess up. Go to your room.” Lee started to get up, “and you are not to go _anywhere_ without Akki or me! Is that understood?”   
“Yes, ma'am.” She quickly walked to her room and closed the door.  
“Hello, hon” Akki smiled sweetly at his glaring wife.  
“Don't _'hon'_ me. You're in trouble too.” She pointed to the couch, “Sit.” she took a breath and he cringed in preparation of the lashing he was about to get.  
Lee could hear the yelling from her room and she pulled out her phone to call Maya. She had to be warned.

Maya emerged from the bathroom. She held her phone in one hand and carried a bulging bag of clothes in the other. She had stripped herself of her jeans, shirt and socks and replaced it all with what seemed to be a black and white stripped, short-sleeved dress. Her black studded belt was slung across her hips and various chains hung from the belt. Minho's mouth dropped as he caught sight of her.  
“Sunbae, can I put this in your trunk?” Maya raised the bag of clothes. Daehyun's jacket was on top.  
“Y-yeah..” Minho stuttered still starring at Maya as she placed the bag in the trunk.  
“Maya..” Maya looked up at Minho, “You're not wearing pants...” Maya erupted in laughter.  
“That's because you're too tall Sunbae. Your pants wouldn't fit. This is fine.” She shot him a grin, “Looks cute on me right?” Minho blushed and opened the passenger door of the car.  
“J-just get in. We need to get that jacket to the cleaners.” Maya got in with a giggle and turned on the radio. They drove to the nearest cleaners in peaceful silence, stealing glances at each other and quietly singing along.   
They arrived at a small, but typical, dry-cleaning place. They walked through the door with a ding. Maya placed the jacket on the counter and opened her mouth to speak when the phone in her hand started singing. “I'm sexy and I know it!” Maya turned deep red, slid her phone to answer it and shoved it into Minho's hands. He looked rather flustered but answered her phone nonetheless, while Maya spoke with the dry-cleaner about the jacket.  
“Hello?” Minho answered tentatively in english. He had a feeling Lee was on the other side of the line.  
“you're not Maya.” Lee's voice came through the receiver and Minho relaxed slightly, “Why are you answering her phone?”  
“She's speaking with the Dry-cleaner.”  
“Dry-cleaner?”  
“Daehyun's jacket was wet.” Minho half growled that fact and Lee giggled on the other side.  
“Someone's not happy about that fact.”   
Minho opened his mouth for a witty remark when the phone was taken from his hand.  
“Yo, chikatae!”   
“Chikatae?” Lee giggled again, “That one is new.”  
“Psh. You know me.” Maya scoffed, “So what do you need.”  
“I'm not calling for me. I'm calling for you.” There was a pause. “Hye mi is on a rampage.”  
“A rampage?”  
“Yeah, she's grilling Akki as we speak. I figured you needed to be forewarned.”  
“It's just Hye mi I'm sur-” Maya was cut off.  
“It's not just Hye Mi! It's like a demon has taken over her body! She's crazy right now! Be careful when you get home. No stupid shit!” There was a click and Maya looked at Minho before bursting into laughter.  
“Hye Mi got her very upset.” she flashed Minho one of her brilliant smiles, “The jacket will only take about 20 minutes.”  
“Well, maybe we should take that time to buy you some pants.”  
“Sunbae! I don't _need_ any pants! This is fine!”  
“Again with the sunbae!” Minho's tone was surprisingly testy.  
“What's so wrong with being called sunbae?” Maya caught Minho off guard with her tone and he couldn't mumble an answer. “I thought you'd appreciate being called something _different_ from what I call everyone else!”


	14. Sunbae Vs. Oppa

Minho had no idea what Maya was so angry about. Hell, Maya had no idea what Maya was so angry about, but she was angry nonetheless and wouldn't take anymore of it. She walked up to Minho shoved her hands in his pocket and took out his keys. She walked away in a random, blind fury, while he stood there blushing at the fact that she just shoved her hands into _his_ pocket.  
Maya stormed to the car and popped the trunk. She threw Minho's pants out of the bag containing her clothes into the trunk, pulled out the bag, and slammed the trunk shut. She stormed back into the cleaners, shoved Minho's keys back into his pocket. She checked the time on her phone and started to storm out past Minho, who had finally realized what was actually going on. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug.  
“Let go.” She growled. Yup. She was still pissed.  
“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you.” She relaxed slightly in his arms before pushing him away again.  
“You have no excuse.”  
“I don't.”  
“At all.”  
“Nope.”  
“Then why do you get so worked up about it?” Maya was clearly still frustrated, “It's a sign of respect, Minho!” His eyes widened slightly, and his heart beat faster when she called him by his name, “ _respect!_ ” she threw her hands in the air as his heart beat returned to normal, “I just don't understand why you can't just be _happy_ that I respect you!”  
“I am happy you respect me, It's just...” He trailed off.  
“Just what?” There was no reply. He couldn't choke out his confession that he didn't want her to _respect_ him, he wanted her to _love_ him. He knew it, but the words wouldn't form on his lips. “Aish!”  
“Forget it. I'm sorry.”  
“forget it?” Clearly he was not helping his situation. “Forget it?” She ran her hands through her hair.  
“Look, I'm sorry.” He pulled her into his embrace once more and her resolve wavered before it totally crashed. She didn't even understand her anger.  
“No, sunbae. I'm sorry.” she hugged him back before pulling away, “I don't even know why I'm getting so worked up... It must be the adrenaline or something.”  
“The adrenaline?”  
“Yeah... from the whole Lee situation...” Maya trailed off and was saved by her singing phone. “Warrior” filled the small store for a total of about one second before maya was speaking into her phone.  
“Oppa!”  
“ _Where are you?_ ”  
“I'm at the dry cleaners.”  
“ _why?_ ”  
“For your jacket.”  
“ _You didn't have to get it cleaned._ ”  
“Oh, but I did!”  
“ _Oh?_ ” Daehyun's sexy chuckle filled Maya's ears, “ _And why is that?_ ” She was beet red, and so was minho. But they weren't red for the same reason whatsoever.  
“It got all wet.”  
“ _How?_ ”  
“Well, you see.. I had to chase after Lee cause she went AWOL and she was in a fountain, and I forgot that I was wearing your jacket and I kinda sorta tackled her...in the fountain...” His laughter filled her ears once more.  
“ _Wish I coulda seen that._ ”  
Minho was fed up with this conversation by now and had finally devised a plan to make it so south. “Maya, we've still got 10 minutes, we should find you pants.” He said this line a little to loud on purpose.  
“ _Find you pants?_ ” Daehyun wasn't laughing anymore. “ _Who's that, Maya?_ ”  
“It's just my Sunbae! He keeps insisting I wear pants because i'm wearing his t-shirt as a dress because I was soaked when he picked me up!” Maya explained as fast as she could. Minho could almost feel Daehyun's smirk on the other side of Maya's phone line.  
“ _Your sunbae? Which one?_ ”  
“Minho.”  
“ _You should tell him not to fret. I'll come pick you up_.”  
“Oppa, you really don't have to.”  
“ _No but I want to. Are you at the cleaners close to the fountains?_ ”  
“The park with all the fountains? Yeah.”  
“ _Well i'll be there in like three minutes, bye._ ”  
“He wants to pick you up?”  
“Yeah..”  
“Well, I can't let him do that.”

_Lee sighed as she looked at her phone and then around her room. Her eyes glanced at her clock, it was getting to be around 6:00. since she can't go out or do anything she decided to go and get into her pjs. She walked into her giant closet and rummaged around until she found a simple red tank top and a pair of black shorts._  
After stripping her self of her old clothes and changing into her comfy ones she pressed her ear against the door. She let out a sigh. Hye Mi was _still_ yelling at her husband. She really had caused a mess.  
She slid down and sat on the floor, her back to the door. A few more minutes past and a small click brought her out of her thoughts. She slowly stood up and opened the door to peak out and see if that click really was an indication that they had left. She looked to the front door and saw only her own jacket and shoes, so she figured they really had left. She let out a breath and walked to the kitchen.  
All else fails. Make some food. 

_Maya looked at Minho, her eyes wide as saucers. “You can't let him?” Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “What do you mean you can't let him?” Minho suppressed a blush._  
“I mean. I can't let _anyone_ take you from me.” Maya's eyebrow raised and Minho quickly saw that a romantic speech would get him nowhere right now, “I mean ah..” He cleared his throat, “I told Hye Mi I would get you home safely.” Maya's eyes rolled.  
“Oh please.” She popped her hip, her hand rested on it naturally and her head was tilted with a certain sass that only seemed to make her more attractive to Minho, “Daehyun Oppa could get me home just fine, and I could-” She was cut off by the sound of a bell. Her head turned to the source of the noise to see Daehyun's white blond hair bow through the door way. She was then faced with his sexy smirk at the sight of her.  
“Looking sassy there, Babe.” Daehyun winked at her and glanced at the fuming Minho, “Your sunbae make you angry?” his eyebrow raised as he watched Minho's mixed reaction to hearing Daehyun call him that.  
Maya's hand shifted off of her hip and her fingers ran through her hair as she grinned at Daehyun. “Ani. It's nothing.”  
Daehyun swallowed at the sight of her grin. It filled him with so much happiness and made him eager to officially claim her. But he couldn't show that now, not here in front of his competition. He made a step toward her and returned her grin with his smirk once again. “That shirt, does make quite the dress on you.” He glanced at Minho, “I've no idea why anyone would try to make you put on pants.”  
“Your jacket's ready.” The voice of the dry cleaner cut through their conversation and Maya bounced up to the counter to thank and pay him. She took the jacket from him and bounced over to Daehyun.  
“Here you go Oppa.” Daehyun smiled at her with a sweetness she had not yet seen from him. Her heart skipped a beat before he spoke again and resumed his cool-boy manner.  
“Thanks, babe.” he grinned as he watched Minho cringe out of the corner of his eye.  
“Well! You got your jacket let's go Maya.” Minho sprung to action taking her hand and leading her out of the building. Daehyun was on his tail and stopped them before they got into the car.  
“Woah. Don't be so hasty.” his hand rested on Minho's shoulder, “It's past six, we should all get some thing to eat, eh?”  
Minho objected to the idea, but Maya insisted that she was famished so they followed Daehyun out to his favorite sushi restaurant for some grub. Everything continued as it was before. Maya was oblivious to the fact that these two gorgeous boys were fighting over her, Daehyun continued to flirt, Minho continued to be angered by Daehyun's mere presence and tried to show him up any chance he could. 


	15. goodnight embraces

Hours past as they all flirted, talked and fought while Lee laid on the couch watching Mulan and glancing at the clock when she wasn't singing to the next musical number. Maya's absence without notice worried her. A lot. She paused the movie and made her way to her phone to call Maya.  
There was a ring. And then an answering machine. “Seriously, Maya?” Lee screamed at her phone. One ring. Either her call was being ignored, or Maya's phone was dead. Lee didn't like either of those ideas. She ran her hands through her hair and walked into her bedroom. She changed out her shorts for jeans and grabbed a jacket to put over her tank before walking to the door and slipping on her flats and making sure her phone was still in her pocket. If anyone was to know anything it'd probably be Minho, Maya was with him last.   
She closed the door behind her and ran down the staircase to the next loft. She knocked on the door she believed to belong to SHINee. Luckily, Key answered the door. She was right.  
“Hello.” Key raised his eyebrow, “What do you need at this time of night?”   
Lee scoffed to hide her contempt of his tall stature. “What do you mean this time of night? It's not that late.” She rolled her eyes, “I'm looking for Maya,” She tried to look around Key, “Is she here, by any chance?”   
Key shook his head, “Not that I know of,” He shrugged, “I just got in myself.” He opened the door wider and turned to the redhead playing video games. “Yo! Taemin! Is Minho here with Maya?”  
No response. Key let out a sigh and signaled the girl inside. She closed the door behind her as She watched Key stand directly in front of the TV screen.   
“Hey!”  
“Hey, yourself. I tried to get your attention. Is Minho here?”  
“No..” Taemin put on a half pout, “Last I knew he was with Maya.” His eyes narrowed, “It's no fair..” He mumbled under his breath. “Why?”   
“Lee wanted to know.” Key walked away leaving Taemin to his video games and Lee standing in the doorway. She slipped off her shoes and fully entered the loft only to be confronted by the smell of chicken and then onew walking past her before backtracking to say hi.  
“I didn't see you there!” He grinned at her and pulled her into a hug. “Why are you here?”  
“I'm looking for Maya.”  
“Ahh! Minho texted me, and said her phone died and to tell you that she's fine if you were worried.”  
“Oh.” Lee let out a breath, relieved.   
“Come with me.” Onew smiled and took lee by the hand, leading her to the kitchen and past Jonghyun's door way.  
His eyes narrowed as he came out of his room to see Onew holding hands with his girl. His blood boiled and he was about to break their hands apart when key's condescending voice broke his rage.  
“You okay there, Dino?”   
Jonghyun swallowed, forced a smile and nodded before shadowing them to the kitchen. Onew was dishing out a plate of chicken which he offered to Lee, who politely refused it saying she already ate with a smile that brought butterflies to the two boys' stomachs. Lee and Onew kept talking, much to the dismay of Jonghyun, until UGLY rang throughout the kitchen. Lee hastily retrieved her phone and answered it.  
“Hey, ho!” Maya's cheery voice filled the receiver.  
“Bitch. I was worried. Where the hell are you?”  
“On my way home! Chill your nips. It's all good.”  
Lee let out a laugh, “Okay, okay, I'll be waiting at home. Oh! And our managers have left the loft, you're free from the worry of Hye Mi's death stare.”   
Maya laughed this time, “Dodged that bullet! See ya soon.”  
“Kay, Bye.” there was a soft click and Lee looked more relieved than ever.  
“Guessing that was Maya?” Onew smiled.  
“Yeah, I'm gonna head back.” She turned to leave when she was enveloped in Onew's embrace. You'd think he'd smell of chicken but instead he smelled of soft peppermint. that made her smile. She hugged him back before heading for the door. She then promptly ran into Jonghyun. “Ohp! Hi there hyun! Sorry.”  
“It's fine, where are you going?”  
“home~”  
“Want me to walk you?”  
“Nawh. But thanks for asking.” She turned to leave only to be jerked back and spun around by his muscular arms. He enveloped her into a warm lovers embrace.   
“Don't think you could leave without hugging me.” He whispered into her ear. She turned bright red and gulped as she tried not to melt into the man surrounding her. He reluctantly let her go and lightly kissed her cheek. “Goodnight, Lee.” he smirked at her as she nodded and robotically put on her shoes and exited the loft. She took a deep breath before running back to their own loft and laying on the couch to try and calm her rapid heart beat.   
Maya smiled up at Minho as she handed him back his phone. “Thanks, I was worried she'd freak.” Daehyun burst out into laughter, and maya turned to her left to look at the convulsing bad-boy.  
“What?”   
“You didn't sound so worried!” He barely spoke the words through his laughter. Minho looked from the confused maya to the convulsing Daehyun before joining him in laughter and nodding in agreement with Daehyun's statement.  
“Yah!” Maya half yelled, half pouted. “I was worried.”  
“Hey ho! Chill yo nips!” Daehyun laughed, as he spoke in his cutely broken english.   
This time maya laughed.  
“Yah! What's so funny?” Daehyun suddenly wasn't laughing anymore.   
“Your english!” Minho replied in his own broken english.   
Maya laughed even more, Wiping tears from her eyes as these two boys looked at her in a mix of anger, amazement, and adoration. “You guys are too cute.” She let out a last giggle and grinned at them. “Let's go home.”  
Both boys gulped at the image of a grinning Maya paired with the words 'let's go home.' Scenarios of an older grinning Maya clutched on their arm and a warm house all to themselves popped into their heads. They were both pulled out of their heads by Maya shoving her hand down Minho's pocket, retrieving his keys, and dangling them in the air before cheerfully stating that she'd drive and skipping to the car. They both exchanged a scared look before looking to the car where Maya stood in the doorway of the driver's seat.   
“Come on!” They both gulped again, before she repeated the words they needed to come running, “Let's go home!”   
They all piled into the car, and buckled up(Maya made sure of that) before Maya punched on the gas and sped home.  
To Maya it was a refreshing joy ride.  
To Minho it was scary as hell.  
To Daehyun it was amazing that a girl could drive so recklessly fast and not get into an accident, or even come close to one.   
The pulled into Minho's parking spot and Maya happily jumped out of the car while Minho remained glued to his seat still gripping onto it for dear life. Daehyun blinked and hit Minho's shoulder before stepping out of the car after Maya. Minho shook his head and hurriedly followed Daehyun out of the car. Maya grinned at him and handed him his keys.  
“Do you always drive like that?” Both boys asked Maya in sync. She looked at them innocently and shook her head.  
“Only cars.”  
“Only cars?”  
“I go much faster on motorcycles.” She grinned at them before skipping to the main entrance and waving at them to hurry.  
“You'd never guess..” Minho muttered under his breath, before shrugging and following her inside.  
“Motocycles?” Daehyun grinned, shoved his hands in his pockets and followed. “She's really something.” 

 

Soon enough they were all standing in front of Maya's loft door. She shot them another grin before opening the door and kicking off her shoes. She jumped up on the wood flooring when she spotted Lee laying on the couch. Her grin turned evil as she ran across the floor and slid before jumping right next to Lee scaring the living crap out of her.  
“Miss me?”   
Lee stared at her wide eyed and clutching her chest.  
“I brought guests!” she motioned to the boys removing their shoes in the doorway.  
“Daehyun?” Lee looked from the boy to Maya while raising her eyebrow.  
“Oppa, needed to pick up the jackets we borrowed.”   
Minho winced at the word Oppa, while daehyun smiled and waved at Lee. His eyes wandered to the door way where Bang's jacket hung.   
“Found it.” Daehyun pointed at the jacket.  
“Great. You can leave then.” Minho pulled it from it's rung and threw it at his rival.  
“Sunbae!” Both boys turned to face her. Daehyun was smug seeing Minho in trouble. Minho was wondering how she could continue to be cute while she was angry. “Don't be so rude!”  
Lee was watching the scene unfold with amusement. “You guys want some soda? I could go for some popcorn myself..” the snark in her voice was undeniable.   
“Lee.” Maya turned to her friend trying to hold the appearance of being angry. She let out a breath aware that she had epically failed. “sure..” She plopped on the couch before looking at the boys attempting to argue discreetly. “I know you're fighting.”   
Both boys turned to look at her, shook their heads, waved their hands and said, “anii!”   
Maya rolled her eyes, “either come in like a normal person, or leave.” They both blinked, “Or you could both stand there in the doorway trying to hide your distain for each other, what control do I have over you guys anyway?” her eye brow raised and she motioned to the couch before spinning herself into an upside down position to await Lee's return from the kitchen.   
Lee sighed as she went into the kitchen and started to make popcorn for Maya and her guests. She leaned against the counter as she looked though her phone's pictures. Pictures of home and what their life used to be before they came to Korea. She smiled as she remembered how they would fangirl whenever SHINee or U-KISS came out with a new comeback album. She chuckled as she shook her head. There was an annoying beep and she furrowed her brow before opening the microwave and grabbing a bowl. She shook the bag of popcorn into the bowl and grabbed 3 sodas for everyone. She walked out and placed the bowl in Maya's upside down lap and placed the sodas on the table.

"If you spill the soda on this floor hell will come over, got it?" Lee sternly looked at the boys. They nodded as Lee sighed and looked at Maya "Me and you will talk later" she stated and Maya shrugged, lifted the popcorn bowl in the air and slid right way up.  
"Yea sure" she smiled as she started to eat the popcorn along with Daehyun and Minho. Lee walked back to her room knowing Maya is home safe and that the boys will leave soon. She decided to go ahead and take a shower.

Meanwhile Daehyun and Minho were glaring at each other as Maya was staring at the TV. Maya saw it all out of the corner of her eye and sighed "If you two don't stop I'm gonna have to ask you both to leave." she stated. Automatically the boys looked away and watched TV.   
About 2 Hours later Lee came back out of her room and surprisingly saw Minho and Daehyun still sitting on the couch. "You guys still haven't left yet?" she asked, exasperated. They shook their head   
“No why should we?" Daehyun asked and Lee simply glared at him.  
"Its 1 in the morning go away" she said. Daehyun shrugged and Minho ignored her, he wasn't gonna leave without Maya telling him too.

Maya looked at Lee eyes wide, "It already one? Crap! I have an early schedule tomorrow!” She turned to look at the boys apologetically, “you guys are gonna have to leave."  
Minho pouted slightly. "Aww okay" he smirked before leaning over and kissing her cheek softly "See you tomorrow, Maya" He stood up to leave as Daehyun glared at him, smirking in victory. But Daehyun had his own stunt to pull.   
He stood up, tillted maya's chin up and looked straight into her eyes, "You'll call me later right?" his tone was soft and loving. Maya blushed slightly and nodded. Daehyun smiled, satisfied, before kissing her head and walking past Minho with and smirk and causing him to let out a low growl.


	16. D-Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mianhae=sorry in Korean

When they both left Lee shook her head "You are so clueless" she smiled.

"Yah! What do you mean?" Maya asked furrowing her brow.

"You mean you can't tell they like you?" she asked.

Maya laughed "You're funny they don't like me,” she let out an enthusiastic giggle before looking at Lee wide eyed again, “....right?" she asked. Lee shrugged in response and walked back into her bedroom..

“What? Lee come back here!" she yelled at her, before scrambling to follow her to her door. “Lee!” she yelled at the door closed and locked on her. “Aiish!” Maya let out a breath of air before looking at the clock and running to her room, it was too late to deal with this stuff.

 

And so, they slept and they got up and followed their schedules, Maya found out she got the part, Big surprise there, Lee continued trying not to learn Korean and learned Korean in the process, all of the boys continued to flirt whenever they could and the girls prepared like crazy for their debut that their managers excitedly exclaimed was in 3 weeks. Honestly, those three weeks were a bore. And so we are going to skip to D-Day! The D obviously stands for debut. They aren't blowing anything up I swear...

 

Lee was staring blankly ahead. Maya was taking deep breaths trying not to hyperventilate. Hye Mi was bouncing up and down in anticipation. Akki was driving.

Maya stood up and started pacing inside of the moving vehicle. If it wasn't already clear to you they were in a tour van. Their faces were plastered on the outside, tons of unnecessary seating lined the inside, and curtains covered the windows. Lee blinked, her eyes shifted towards her pacing friend.

“How the hell are you pacing right now?” Maya froze and turned to face Lee.

“There's a lot of room, why did they give us so much room? We don't need this much room... why didn't they just let us use a car?”

“We're moving. And you're pacing.. and freaking out more than me. Why are you freaking out more than me?” Lee's eyes grew wider with each word, “Oh my god. You're freaking out. _You're_ freaking out! Miss Cool-under-pressure is freaking out! Should I be freaking out? Oh great now I _am_ freaking out..” Lee took a breath and opened her mouth to speak more when Hye Mi's cheery voice cut through their rambles.

“You should both calm down! There's nothing to worry about, you girls are going to be amazing.” She turned in her seat to smile at them. “Maya have a seat,”

Maya blinked and nodded slowly before sitting in the seat nearest to her, which happened to be a couple rows a head of lee's and on the opposite side. Lee groaned. She needed some support and maya was too far for that. Lee stood up and practically ran to the seat in the aisle directly across from Maya. She looked at her, eyes wide, hand on her chest. “I don't know how you paced in this thing. I just thought I was going to die.”

Maya looked at her frightened friend and burst into laughter, lifting the heavy air that surrounded the anxious girls. Soon everyone was laughing and they made their way to the concert hall without anymore freak out moments.

 

The girls stood in a hallway outside of two dressing rooms. Each of their names was on a gold star on a door, they exchanged a small smile with each other before stepping into their separate dressing rooms.

Maya grinned looking at the small rack of clothes that stood in the center of her room. “My debut outfit!” she squealed running to the rack and stripping down to her underwear. She gingerly removed a sleeveless black dress from a hanger. It was obviously Lolita fashioned, poofy, ruffly, and girly, but it was also obviously purposely distressed; rips and tears covered the dress in all the right places to take out some poof and add a contradicting badass element. Maya slipped the dress on over her head and smiled at it's comfortable fit. She opened a bag hanging on the rack. Inside laid tons of white sparkly bracelets along with a few black leather spiky bracelets and two boots. She removed the bracelets from the bag and distributed them evenly on both of her wrists before removing the boots.

Both boots were lace up, faux leather, platform boots. The left boot was pure black with no added buckles, the right boot was pure white with six buckles up the outside facing side, straps poked out like spikes. Maya pulled a stool from by the mirrors over, took a seat and pulled the boots on. She let out a small chuckle and turned back to the rack. “Guess now we know why we had to practice our dance in platforms.” She pulled the last piece of her outfit off the rack. It was a blue leather cropped jacket. Chains hung from the bottom and they jingled as she shrugged it on and pulled her hair out from under it. Maya grinned and walked to the full length mirror that hung on the door.

Her hazel-green eyes scanned over her outfit making sure it was all situated correctly. Once she was satisfied she settled for running her fingers through her hair. Her under-layer was stripped of all bright colors, she'd been instructed she was to leave it the white-blonde she'd originally dyed it. Looking at the white and black outfit they'd put her in it made sense. She let out a breath as she ran her fingers over her bare face. “I wonder what they'll do with this.” She smiled softly and stepped out of the dressing room. She knocked softly on the door next to hers. “Lee.”

“Aishhhh. Stupid boots! Come in!” Maya chuckled before walking in to see Lee in an outfit opposite of hers, sitting on the floor struggling to get her boots on. Maya giggled before running to Lee's aid and helping her up once her boots were situated.

“Aww. Look at you!” Maya grinned her hazel-green eyes looking over Lee's outfit. She wore the same dress as Maya in white, the same jacket in red, and the match to each of Maya's shoes. “I guess I'm Yin and you're Yang.”

Lee grinned. “How sweet they think I'm the good one!” They both giggled before walking out arm in arm to find their hair and makeup artists.

 

Three boy bands awkwardly stood back stage, each wondering why the others were there. Most of SHINee stood goofing off with each other. B.A.P stood aloof against a wall trying to look cool. U-Kiss talked among themselves respectfully. Minho brushed off his band mates and looked intently for Maya while shooting Daehyun as many glares as possible. Onew was purposely being as rough on Jonghyun as possible, Taemin was trying to shrug off Key to look over Minho to find Maya. Bang discreetly scanned the area for Lee while Daehyun glared at Minho and the other members messed around with each other. Dongho was texting his girlfriend. AJ and Eli were teasing him endlessly. Kevin was happily chatting up anyone who would listen. Kiseop was quietly analyzing the relations between members of each group while scanning the immediate area for Amaya. Hoon pretended to listen to Kevin while looking for Lee and Soohyun looked over his members making sure everything was in order while keeping an eye out for Lee.

Maya and Lee walked out of the hallway, arms locked and giggling like schoolgirls still in search of their makeup artists. They entered the foyer that held the mob of boys and froze. All eyes turned towards them and the girls exchanged mixed looks as the mob drew closer. Maya gulped before letting go of Lee's arm and smiling at the guys. “Hey! We didn't know you were all coming!”

“Why wouldn't we?” Daehyun's voice sounded from behind SHINee and Ukiss. B.A.P pushed themselves off of the wall and made their way to the girls.

“Oppa!” Lee and Maya called in unison. Bang and Daehyun smiled and the girls gave them hugs before looking at each other and turning to the youngest. “Zellie!” they giggled flinging themselves at him and ruffling his poofy hair as he tried to act annoyed.

“Your debut preparations are going well, I hope?” Lee smiled at the group as they all nodded and grinned, “Has the date been set?” they shook their heads.

“Did your producers like the dance?” Maya asked them all excitedly. Daehyun chuckled and ruffled her hair.

“Of course. Everyone loves it.”

Maya grinned up at him and turned to look at the other boy groups standing around. “I haven't seen you guys in a while!” She giggled and pulled Lee with her over to where Ukiss stood.

“Busy schedules?” Lee smiled at Soohyun, who nodded and blushed slightly in her presence.

“Dude.” Eli was staring blankly at the girl's clothes, “Why the hell did they put _you_ in white?” he pointed at Lee, who grinned evilly at him, “You're a total devil!” Maya choked back laughter as Hoon, Aj and Soohyun glared at him, “I mean.. You know how hard she is to teach?” Maya couldn't hold it back anymore and laughed to her heart's content while Lee tortured Eli for what he said.

Kiesop smiled at the cute, laughing Amaya while Kevin joined in and asked Maya just how horrible Lee could be.

“You do have to wonder why they put my angel in Black..” Key muttered to his band mates while listening to the conversation the girls were having with Ukiss.

“Your angel?” Minho, Taemin and Daehyun all asked in unison. Key grinned.

“Naturally, Maya is my Angel, Lee is my devil. I've given up on trying to fight you all for Maya's romantic affections.” He shrugged, “I've decided I'm going to be their best friend. Besides they make such perfect models for my designing experiments.”

Daehyun rolled his eyes and turned back to his band mates. Taemin narrowed his eyes at key and Minho chuckled. The girls turned to SHINee with a grin.

“Hey, Key!” They sung in unison giving him a hug.

“You like our outfits? They're very Yin and Yang.” Maya winked, Key nodded.

“You're coming over sometime this week for designing right?” Lee grinned at him. Key nodded again. Maya turned to Minho, while Lee turned to Jonghyun and Onew and chatted happily with the two.

“Hi, sunbae!” Maya gave Minho a hug before being enveloped by Taemin's arms. “Yah! Tae-oppa.” She squeaked, “I can't breathe!” Taemin let her go with a grin.

“What did you just call me? Say it again!”

“Tae-oppa?” Maya tilted her head. Taemin grinned, Minho scowled, and Daehyun chuckled from behind Maya.

“Did you hear that, Hyung?” Taemin smirked at Minho, “I'm Tae-oppa.”

“Amaya, Aleera!” Hye mi's voice carried over the boy's voices, “Come get your makeup done.”

“Mianhae!” the girls called in unison before linking arms and running over to their manager.

“I'm Oppa!” Taemin grinned at Minho. “You're just sunbae.”

Daehyun burst into laughter. Minho sent them both a look that shut them up.

 

Maya and Lee were spun around in chairs to face the mirrors. They both let out a gasp before looking at themselves closer in the mirror. Maya lightly touched her cheek in awe. Her skin looked flawless, something she contributed to the BB cream. Her eye makeup was stunning. Moderate black eyeliner, light grey Smokey eye shadow, baby blue accented the corners and tips of her eye lids like wings, sparkles covered her entire lid and lightly under her eye, where a few tiny white rhinestones laid. Her makeup artist smiled softly at her.

“It's the “angelic” look. It suits you well.”

“Angelic..” Maya looked at her eyes, which were stunningly brighter than usual. She parted her lips, glossed with pale pink, and let out a sigh. “I love it.”

Lee touched her flawless looking skin; she also thanked the BB cream. Her eye makeup was striking. Thick black eyeliner encased her lids and blended into the dark Smokey eye shadow that brought out her bright blue eyes. Bright red accented the tips of her eyes slightly, and small black rhinestones lay under her eyes. Her thick blonde lashes were painted black with mascara and framed her eyes. She parted her lips, painted deep red, and looked to her makeup artist.

“This is me?” Her makeup artist chuckled.

“Yes. It's you.”

“Wow...” She turned to look at Maya as Maya turned to look at her. Their breath caught in their throats as they each stared at their gorgeous friend.

“You look flawless,” they both whispered in awe at each other before bursting into giggles.

“Seriously Maya, I don't think I’ll ever get used to having such a gorgeous friend,” Lee smiled.

“Yah!” Maya giggled, “That's my line!”

The girls both sat still in their makeup chairs while stylists straightened their hair till it was pin straight and silky smooth. Maya tried hard not to giggle as the stylists straightening their hair gushed about the beautiful auburn color of Maya's top layer and the gorgeous color of Lee's natural blonde hair (in Korean). Lee shot her a strange look. Maya replied by mouthing an “I'll tell you later.” Lee nodded.

 

The stylists finished with their hair and the sound crew came by to fit them with wireless, microphones. One of the stylists started throwing a fit about how the box connected to the microphone ruined the outfit and returned with two different belts to attach the boxes to in a more fashionable manner. Maya was fitted with a pure white belt that matched the majority of her bracelets while Lee was fitted with a black spiked belt to match hers. “Five minutes!” The tech crew yelled in Korean. Maya turned to relay the message to Lee but Lee smiled and shook her head.

“I understood.” Maya shot her a grin, “Surprisingly enough Eli is a pretty good teacher, what were you going to tell me later?”

Maya looked around to make sure the stylists weren't still hanging around and grinned at Lee. “They stylists were gushing about our hair colors, it was just really funny to listen to. They kept talking about how they wished they could have a natural red tint like mine or “pure golden” hair like yours.” Maya giggled and Lee raised her eyebrow.

“Pure golden?”

“Their exact words.”

Lee let out a small giggle and grinned at Maya. “It's almost time…we should take our places.” Maya nodded and the girls made their way to the blacked out stage. Artificial smoke clouded the stage and slowly died down as they took their places. Artificial fog rolled at their ankles.

Their backs were to the audience, lights went up, people screamed and chanted, they were announced and Amaya took a deep breath. “ One, two… **One two three four!** ” Maya's voice sailed over the crowd. 43VER THE FLAW spun around to face their audience.

They fell into a flawless dance routine as Amaya's clear, high voice continued to soar, “We all **_dance_** …in this endless masquerade! And we all,”

“ ** _Wear…_** ” Lee's sweet low voice harmonized with Maya's, “ _Heavy masks made of glass._ ”

“Easy to shatter, easy to fall, easy to break and I can see right through.” Lee's voice continued to cut through the crowd before their voices joined together once again.

“ _So take my hand, Let us dance to the end. The haunting song, piercing voice will reach right through. Shatter the glass; let it fall. We'll make it rain glass masks_.”

“For these masks…only shield the truth.” The crowd was going wild. Maya smiled through her line, “And beneath them,”

“ ** _Lie..._** ” Lee's voice joined Maya's again, the crowd grew louder, “The bloodshot eyes, tear-stained face, pain and regret,” Lee's voice cried out.

“ ** _And isn't it sad?”_** Maya's voice joined hers in perfect harmony before their song dropped into a whisper, “ _All humans ever do is lie.”_

_“Still take my hand!”_ Harmony rang again, “ _let us dance to the end, the haunting song, our piercing voice, will reach right through, shatter the glass, let it fall, We'll make it rain glass masks.”_

The beat dropped and came up with a screech, altering the song with a dub step feel as the girls ripped their jackets off, threw them into the crowd and started the break down dance.

“ ** _Look!_** ” the girl's yelled. “Through the glass!” Lee sang, her voice higher than normal.

“See their broken hearts!” Maya sang, her voice becoming low.

“ ** _Break!_** ” the girls yelled again. “Down your **walls...** ” Maya's voice was once again clear and high as the break down ended, her voice carried through Lee's next line.

“Let them fall...” Her low voice complemented Maya's.

Their voices joined again for the last chorus, “ _Take my hand, Let us dance to the end. The haunting song, piercing voice will reach right through. Shatter the glass; let it fall. Let's make it rain glass masks._ ”

Their voices echoed as the crowd roared and silver confetti rained down on the stage. The girls looked at each other with a grin before Maya started waving and introducing their next song.

The girls' second song ended and Maya was ready to happily announce the third when Lee grabbed her arm and whispered something in her ear to make her giggle. The crowd erupted into “awws” at the sound of her giggle and she looked at them with a smile. “Aleera just thought I should ask how many Ukiss fans we have out here.” the noise level rose so much the girls couldn't hear themselves think. They both giggled and looked at each other.

“Wow, that many?” Lee spoke in Korean, causing Maya to grin.

“Well, you know they're back stage right?” Maya glanced back stage and stuck her tongue out at Kevin and the rest of Ukiss. “They should come dance with us right?”

All the girls could hear was “YES” from all directions.

“Hey, guys come out! Let's do Neverland!” Maya grinned and waved the boys onto the stage. Lee and Maya took place in the center of their formation and the music started. Lee flashed Maya a grin mid dance. “Told you they'd have the track,” She mouthed. Maya suppressed a giggle.

“SHINee next?” she mouthed back. Lee grinned and nodded in response. The track finished and the girls giggled and thanked Ukiss before Maya turned back to the crowd.

“So, We also have some more friends you guys might know!” Maya giggled, “Yah! Sunbae! Can you bring everyone out here?” Maya's eyes locked onto Minho's as he led all of SHINee on stage. The crowd roared. “Let's do Lucifer!” Maya yelled, taking a place next to Taemin, who grinned, knowing that she would be doing the same part as him. Lee took a place next to Onew, who grinned before sticking his tongue out at Jonghyun.

The dance finished, bows were taken and the boys dismissed themselves from the stage while Maya cheerfully announced the next song. Eventually they ran out of songs from their album and the concert came to a close.


	17. The aftermath

After the concert had ended Maya and Lee walked backstage to remove all the makeup and to change into more comfortable clothes. They were tired, excited about how well the concert went, and more importantly they were very, very hungry! Lee’s stomach growled loudly and she groaned, "Awww, my tummy is so hungry" as she rubbed her tummy. Maya laughed, standing in the door to Lee’s dressing room holding makeup wipes, "You’re always hungry.” She shook her head and froze when her stomach growled. Lee smirked "It seems that you’re hungry too!" Maya grinned at her before she stuck her tongue out. She laughed lightly, walked in Lee’s dressing room, set the wipes on the counter and they began to take off the pounds of make up that made them look flawless. After about 10 minutes of scrubbing, giggling, and fussing, all the makeup and hair, and accessories were fixed to look normal. They both went back to the little waiting room backstage to find the boys before they changed. SHINee greeted them first. "Hello beautiful!" Key chimed with a smile as he walked over to the girls. The girls waved and smiled back while Minho, Onew and Jonghyun, and Taemin glared at Key. He knew but paid no mind.

            “Where’s everyone from U-kiss and B.A.P?” Maya looked around the room.

            “U-kiss had an appointment, I’m afraid” Key smiled, “They told us to tell you girls it was fantastic.” The girls grinned. “I’m not sure where B.A.P went though…”

            Maya pursed her lips, “Well we’ll look for them in a bit I guess, we’re gonna change real quick.”

            Maya and Lee made their way back to their dressing rooms and stripped themselves of their concert clothes. Maya slipped on a neon pink shirt with short white shorts that showed off her legs. Lee wore a sparkly blue shirt and white skinny jeans. They slipped on the shoes they came with and threw all their stuff in their bags. They both exited their dressing rooms at the same time and giggled. They made their way back to the waiting area to see B.A.P and SHINee both waiting for them.

Daehyun’s face lit up as he saw Maya. He made his way towards her while Bang made his way towards Lee.

“You were great,” Daehyun smiled and kissed Maya’s cheek. She blushed beat red while Onew, Jonghyun, and Key were restraining Minho and Taemin.

            “T-thanks” Maya blushed and touched where Daehyun had just kissed her.

            “I’ll see you soon.” He smirked before kissing her cheek again and exiting the room with the rest of B.A.P, aside from Bang, who was spinning Lee around in a tight hug to congratulate her and say goodbye. Onew and Jonghyun had to be restrained.

            Once they left the SHINee boys shook of their anger and made their way to the girls. “Ready to go?" Minho asked Maya as he walked over. He looked her up and down, checking her out, halfway to see if she was okay and half way because she looked hot in that simple little outfit. She nodded and looked up at him. “You guys are riding home with us?” Minho nodded.

Onew smiled as he went over to Lee, “You were amazing out there today,” he whispered. She smiled.

           “Thanks, Onew" she said giving him a hug. Jonghyun felt his anger rise. Key noticed and chuckled lightly.

“Well ladies you have a huge crowd out front and your mangers are waiting for us to get in the van. We will be your escorts. Ready to face the crowd?" Key asked them.

           Maya grinned, "Oh, hell yea.”

Lee gulped with a nod, "Yea, I guess so…" She was still a little nervous to be around fans, especially when they get really close.

"Okay come on" Key smiled going out first, Maya followed with Minho and Taemin on either side of her, then Jonghyun and Onew followed on either side of Lee.

            They were deafened from the roaring of their fans and were blinded by the flashes of lights coming from cameras held by Fans and paparazzi alike. Fans tried to elbow their way to the girls, their arms reaching out. Maya smiled sweetly and tried to touch a few hands while Lee just tried to stay calm and not clench her eyes shut for some pictures. Key, Minho, Taemin, Jonghyun and Onew formed a wall around the girls acting as bodyguards. Key was in front, Minho protectively held out his left arm and wrapped his right arm around Maya; Taemin held out his right arm and held her in his left. Onew had his right arm wrapped around Lee, his left out to the crowd, he constantly checked to see if her eyes were open and tried his best to guide her as Jonghyun held her in his left and made sure no one got to close with his right. They made their way to the van and all hurried in. Akki stepped on the gas and they drove off the apartments. Lee sighed as she tried to clear her head to remove the headache the flashing lights gave her.

"You okay Lee?" Onew asked as he leaned towards her slightly, making sure she was okay. She smiled and nodded.

"Yea, Onew, I'm fine. Thank you" she smiled weakly. Jonghyun turned to her, worried.

“Are you sure?" he asked. She nodded.

"Yes, boys. I'm fine geez…"

   A little while later the van arrived at the apartment. The girls were sound asleep. Lee’s head laid on Jonghyun’s shoulder and Maya’s on Minho’s. Aki Ho smiled at the boys. "Could you take them to the apartment? Hye Mi and I will get the girls’ bags” Akki’s voice was a low whisper. Jonghyun nodded before carefully shifting Lee into his arms bridal style and exiting the van. Minho did the same. Both easily opened the front doors and maneuvered the elevators with the girls in their arms.

Akki and Hye Mi had already put away the girls’ bags and unlocked the door by the time the boys reached the front door. Jonghyun opened the door with ease and walked in with Minho in tow. "Minho, which one is Lee's room?" he whispered. Minho nodded towards the door with the big poster of Ukiss plastered on it. "Of course…" he muttered before walking over and opening the door. He flipped on a small lamp and placed her lightly on the bed. He smiled as he pulled the blanket over her and admired her sleeping form. He leaned down and lightly placed a kiss on her forehead, thinking himself alone with his sleeping love. But, Onew stood in the doorway clenching his fists. He let out a breath and walked away thinking it best not to cause any trouble this late at night.

Minho laid Maya in her bed before tucking her in and kissing her forehead. He began to walk out of the room when he turned around and kissed both of her cheeks out of envy from seeing Daehyun do the same earlier. He exited her room and closed the door quietly. “Jonghyun, come on. We gotta go." he whispered into Lee’s room. Jonhyun looked at him and nodded as he got up and glanced at Lee’s drawing board. Her latest design was on the top. He smiled before walking out and closing the door behind them. They then left to their own apartment.

 

The next morning Lee woke up still in her clothes from last night.  She rubbed her eyes trying to get rid of the sleepiness. She crawled out of bed and looked at the clocking blinking at her. 10 am. 10 am. 10 am. She rubbed her head and yawned as she walked out of her room and went to Maya's door and knocked lightly. It took a few seconds before Maya opened the door. "Hey, your finally up," she smiled as she dried her hair.

"How can you bee this happy and cheery in the morning?" Lee asked as she walked past her and plopped herself on to Maya’s bed. Maya shrugged

"I don't know. It could just be my raw awesomeness, but the credit more likely goes to the two white chocolate lattés I drank this morning." she shrugged with a grin before she walked over and sat on Lee. Lee made a weird face and then promptly pushed her onto the floor "Oww! That hurt!" she exclaimed, throwing Lee an angry pout face. Lee shrugged.

           "Well, that’s what you get for trying to sit on me, dumbass," she laughed slightly

before she sighed. "Do we have anything planned to day at all?" she asked.

"I honestly don't know. Our mangers should be here at any time now to tell us," she peeled herself off the floor and rubbed her butt "My poor ass…" she muttered shooting Lee a glare. Lee smirked as her eyes closed.

"Well, if you go over to SHINee's dorm I bet Minho would _love_ to help you erase the pain from your ass" she stated. Maya looked at her, dumbfounded.

“LEE! THE HELL?" she screamed.

"What? I’m just being truthful here! That man acts like you’re his life source or something, and he will do everything and everything for you! So, yeah." she said as she opened her eyes and sat up. Then the doorbell rang

             Lee got up and walked over to the door followed by Maya. She opened the door and there stood their mangers. "Hello," Lee smiled as she moved over so they could walk though.

"Morning girls! Glad to see you two awake," Aki Ho smiled. Lee nodded and walked over to the couch

“Well, you’re welcome." said Lee. Maya sat next to her and Akki Ho and Hye Mi moved to stand in front of them.

"Well to start off on a good note, the concert was a huge success because you girls are amazing and you had SHINee and UKISS. A lot of people liked that." Akki Ho sounded proud and the girls smiled proudly, happy that they made their fans happy and that they had a successful concert. "Now, the bad part is that today is not a free day. After 3 this afternoon you guys have a packed schedule. Maya will be working on her show and attending press meetings about the show and such. And Lee you will have Korean practice with Key instead of Eli, since Eli is out with his own schedule for the time being, and you will practice dancing" said Akki Ho. Lee groaned

"Really?" she asked. She never complained, but she was way too tired for that right now. Then Hye Mi gave her that killer look. And Lee smiled, "Oh, okay! Sounds great!" she said quickly. Hye Mi smiled and nodded at her.

"Good So around 2:50 I'll come and get Maya while Akki stays here with Lee until Key gets here." Said Hye Mi. Akki Ho nodded

"Okay sounds good. See you guys then, okay?" he asked. Maya nodded

"Okay see you” she smiled.

Hye Mi pointed at Lee, “Remember Lee, you’re under house arrest still, so don't go off by yourself or else" she warned her. Lee nodded and saluted

"Yes ma’am" she said and then the mangers left.


	18. Shopping Trip from Hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unni-affectionate term for an older girl, said typically to a girl from a girl; big-sister

    A little time past, and both of the girl were bored out of their minds. So, Maya was in her room, jamming out to music and Lee was dancing in their private dance studio to Miss A's "Bad Girl, Good Girl.” No one noticed the door or even heard it open, but surely enough Key walked right into the apartment and then into the dance studio. He raised an eyebrow as he watched her continue to dance not noticing him in the slightest. That is until she had to turn around in the dance. Then she screamed. Loudly. Which caused Maya to run from her bedroom to the dance studio.

"What? What? Who got shot?!" she screamed running into the studio and then seeing Key. “Oh! Hey, Key" she smiled and waved. He waved back and returned the smile. Lee held her hand over her rapidly beating.

"No! No! Don’t be all ‘Hey, Key!’ That mother fucker scared the shit out me!" Lee yelled failing to calm herself. Key shrugged and looked at both of them before holding up at key.

"How did you get that?" Maya asked.

"Your manger gave it to me in case I decided to come over earlier. And I did." he smiled.

"Yea well how about a warning next time?" Lee half asked half screamed. Key raised an eyebrow

"When have you ever known me to give a warning to anybody?" he asked her. She thought for a moment and nodded.

"Well you’ve got a point there," she muttered. Key nodded

"Exactly, So, ladies, ready for some shopping?" he asked. The girls looked at him dumbfounded.

“What?" they asked in sync.

“Shopping.” Key grinned, “I’m taking you girls shopping because you two will make the _perfect_ models for my fashion experiments.”

“Experiments?” Lee gulped.

“Yup, You’re my dolls!” Key smiled, “Now lets go,”

            “But-“ Lee was cut off by Maya and Key both grabbing one of her arms and pulling her to the door. They all slipped on their shoes, though Lee did it grudgingly. Once they were outside the door Maya nudged lee with her elbow.

            “Don’t complain, Key-Unni is treating us to new clothes and if anyone I know loves clothes, it’s you.” Maya whispered into Lee’s ear so Key couldn’t hear. Lee had to suppress laughter from Maya calling him Unni. It’s not like he was gay. For god’s sake the boy had the _biggest_ crush on Maya until he realized all the hearts he would have to break to get her, not to mention how much effort it would take.

            “I do like clothes. I just don’t like _shopping_ for them.” Lee squinted her eyes at Maya, who just grinned back.

            “Only ‘cause you hate spending money and picking stuff out, Key is doing both of those things.”

            “You forgot the trying things on…”

            “Oh, hush! You know you secretly love it!” Maya hit lee on the arm and key looked back with a smile.

            “Is she lightening up yet?”

            “Gettin’ there.” Maya grinned. They all piled into the elevator and began to embark on an expedition led by Key.

            Before they knew it they were in down town Seoul going in and out of the cutest, sheik and seldom known boutiques, where everything was one of a kind, and being shoved into dressing rooms with carefully picked outfits being thrown at them.

            “Basics first girls. Come on out.”

            Maya and Lee stepped out from behind curtained changing rooms. Lee was sporting a pair of distressed white jeans and a cropped red tee. Her arms wrapped around her exposed stomach and she half-glared at Key.

            Maya wore a V-necked purple halter and black distressed jeans. She smiled softly at Key who grinned back at both of them, before frowning at their bare feet. He held up his hand a moment and left, before returning with black and purple floral-print platform heals for Maya and red lace-up platform booties for Lee.

            Maya’s face lit up and she grinned at Key. “These are so cute!” She took the heels from his outstretched hand and promptly sat on the ground to put them on. Lee looked from Key to the red booties and then to Key again.

            “You’re insane.” Key placed the shoes into Lee’s free hand.

            “Basics”

            “Uh no. You’re expecting me to put on those high ass heals? I’m already wearing _half_ a shirt!”

            “It’s called a crop top. Put on the shoes.”

            “Uh. How about no?” Lee shoved the shoes back into key’s hands, uncrossing her arms in the process and revealing her sculpted stomach.

            “Ow ow!” Maya cat called, looking at Lee, “Nice abs. now put on the shoes.”

            Lee blushed deep red and slowly took the shoes from Key and put them on. Key turned to look at Maya, grinned and then snapped a picture of her with his phone. “Perfect. Purple brings out your eyes.” He turned to look at lee and snapped a picture before she could hide. “Red brings out your eyes, Lee. You should really show off your body more. It’s perfect.” He smiled sweetly at her and then grinned at Maya, “Now both of you change back and we’ll go off to the next shoppe.” It took them only few moments to change back and they came out to Key holding two shopping bags with a grin.

            “Lets go!” he called eagerly before turning around and walking out of the shoppe.

            “Hey! You didn’t have to buy them!” Lee called as they ran after him.

            “Oh but I did. They were too perfect for you two. In.” he stopped and shoved them into the next shoppe. In a little less than a half hour key was carrying 10 bags and shoving them into another shoppe. “Last one I promise, Lee” Key grinned and immediately shoved them into the dressing rooms. He grinned evilly, looking around at all the lingerie. “They’re gonna kill me.” He picked up a black leather zip up corset that he was fairly certain lee could put on herself, a matching “devil’s skirt” bottoms that pretty much looked like underwear with a way to short skirt and a tail. He grabbed a pink lace cropped bustier that had little angel wings coming out the back and a matching pair of pink lace underwear. He threw the sets over the dressing room doors and waited for their reaction.

            “Oh HELL no!” Lee screamed.

            “Key… this is a joke right?” Maya squeaked.

            “Put it on girls.” A few minutes of silence passed and Key spoke again “Come out.”

            Lee’s dressing room door slowly opened and she took a deep breath before coming out. Key snapped a picture before she could protest and quickly sent it to Jonghyun, Onew, and Eli with the caption, “I know her better than you. ^.^”

            “Key!” Lee screamed trying to grab the camera as he snapped more pictures and sent them to various boys with crushes on her. “I swear I’m gonna kill you!” She froze. “Wait. Maya’s not out.”

            “I’m not coming out.” Maya’s voice sounded from inside the dressing room.

            “Oh, yes you are.” Key and Lee said in sync.

            “No.”

            “Yes, you are or I’ll… I’ll… I’ll cut off all the heads to your stuffed animals.” Maya flew the dressing room door open in panic and then stepped out timidly.

            She looked at the ground and attempted to hide her face.

            “Maya!” Key yelled. She jumped and looked up at him in shock, her eyes wide, lips parted and cheeks bright red from blushing. He snapped a picture and grinned sending it to Daehyun, Minho and Taemin with the caption “Whoops. Wrong person~”

            “Key!” Maya and Lee yelled charging at him as he continued to laugh and take pictures to send to start more trouble.

 


	19. The havoc he reaped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay guys. So It's been a long time huh? well, SURPRISE. I'm alive. The story is alive. My co-writer is getting married and I am studying abroad in Korea and well, things have been hectic. But i will make an effort to actually give ya'll some chapter work. Also, be warned of a possible upcoming time skip and new love interests.
> 
> Also, why, when i started this thing did no one think to remind me that UKISS is not SM? please, ignore that. in this story and this story only, is UKISS SM. 
> 
> Anyway, here's your chapter.

Daehyun sat collapsed against the practice room wall. His jacket was half way across the room; his body was soaked in sweat; and he was pushing a panting Zelo off his lap.

            “I’m hot and tired, why are you laying on me?” Daehyun pushed Zelo again while moving his body in the opposite direction.

            “Ya. I need a pillow.” Zelo moved closer. Daehyun opened his mouth to yell at the stupid Manake when his phone went off.

            “You’re lucky this time.” Daehyun scowled at Zelo before pulling himself up and strutting to his jacket. He pulled out his phone and raised his eyebrow at the message on the screen. ‘ _One new message from Key_.’ “Why the fuck is Key texting-“ Daehyun stopped midsentence as he gawked at the screen. His eyes flicked away from the picture long enough to see the message below. His eyes narrowed as his hands clenched into fists. He flung the phone across the room with all his might as he stormed out of the practice room. Jongup lazily reached out and caught the phone with a small wince.

            “I wonder what the hell his problem” He stopped mid sentence as his eyes found the picture of Maya on the screen, “She’s a fucking goddess, why the hell is he up-oh….” He looked at the message below before shrugging. “He should be happy he got the picture any way.”

            “Picture?” Zelo’s ears perked up as he snatched the phone out of Jongup’s hands. He looked down and his jaw dropped. “That’s the chick that calls me Zellie?” His eyes widened “Jesus, she can call me that all she wants as long as I get some of th-“ His cocky sentence was cut short by a blow to the back of the head by a fuming Daehyun. He snatched the phone from his hand, grabbed his jacket and then stormed out of the room again. Jongup laughed.

            “Be happy you can save it, loser.”

 

Eli sat sprawled out on the couch in front of the TV. His band mates had long abandoned him due to a schedule or a sudden need for new shit they didn’t need. He sighed as he stared blankly at the uninteresting shows on the television.

 

After a few minutes of brain numbing nothingness his stomach growled. Naturally he got up and walked into the kitchen to make instant ramen. He hummed to himself as he popped open the fridge and pulled out a water bottle to drink as he waited for his ramen to cook. A ding rang throughout the dorm and he opened the microwave and grabbed his chopsticks in one smooth motion. He started to walk to the living room while stirring it when “bubble pop” sounded throughout the dorm. He cursed under his breath about changing his text tone while he set down his ramen and picked up his phone

His eyes narrowed at the name on the screen. Anything coming from Key is almost never good. He slowly slid his finger across the screen to view the message. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he starred at the picture in front of him. "What the" he whispered gawking at the image of Lee burning into his screen. He scrolled down to see the message below and sighed angrily, "Damn it Key," he mumbled as he walked to the door to slip on his shoes and storm to the girl’s dorm to await their return, his ramen forgotten on the table.

 

            Minho sat in the back of his manager’s car being briefed on the rest of today’s schedule. He listened intently and smiled at the mention of the drama he’d be in with Maya. “So we have the run through and screening for the drama first, and then there’s various press conferences afterwards?” Minho’s manager nodded in response and Minho opened his mouth to ask another question when a loud whistle sounded in the car. Minho grinned and picked up his phone hoping for a text from Maya. He let out a small sigh at the name on the screen and slid it open while taking a drink of his water. He choked at the image on his screen. Maya’s beautiful eyes were wide, her cheeks were pink, her lips were parted ever so slightly, and her body was barely covered in pink lace. Her long legs were entirely exposed, as was her sculpted stomach. His eyes gazed over her picture for minutes until he realized that _Key_ had _sent_ him this picture. He gulped and scrolled down to read the message below. “Wrong person?” Minho whispered out loud. “ ** _Wrong person?_** ” He screamed making his manager jump ever so slightly. “He better not have meant to send it to that fucking punk Daehyun. I’m gonna kill them both.” His hands clenched into fists. “Those bastards.”

 

            Taemin stood panting in front of the studio mirror after finishing the dance he had to learn for an upcoming appearance on a variety show. He strutted over to the mirror and bent down to pick up his water bottle and instinctively picked up his phone as well. He started drinking from his water bottle as he unlocked his phone to check his messages. He idly scrolled through his messages and replied to some friends when Key’s name flashed across the screen twice. He opened the messages and nearly choked on his water. Amaya’s angelic face stared at the camera in embarrassment and shock. Her body was ever so slightly covered and Taemin couldn’t take his eyes off the picture for several minutes before he looked at the message below _. “Whoops~ wrong person.”_ The message taunted him for a minute before he saved the picture and scoffed. “Wrong person, my ass. Key knows how to work a phone better and faster than anyone I know.” he laughed again before putting down his phone and water and returning to practice, the image of Maya in his head.

 

Jonghyun and Onew were both working in the recording studio while Taemin and Minho did their thing. Onew was going through his notes while Jonghyun was practicing his intense vocal runs. Onew’s beeping phone drew his attention away from his notes and his eyebrows burrowed as he saw who sent the message: Key. It was never a good thing to get a text from Key. His fingers slid the message open slowly and his eyes widened with shock as a picture formed on his screen. He practically choked on a chip he had just thrown in his mouth as his eyes stared at the picture of Lee in lingerie. The blood rose to his cheeks as a not at all subtle blush formed. The blush wasn’t from how hot Lee looked though, it was from the pure anger he felt that key would do something like this to the two girls who had recently lightened up their growingly dull life. The anger doubled when he thought about how much he cared for Lee. Onew shot up from his chair and stormed over to Jonghyun mid vocal run. “We need to leave. Now.”

 

Jonghyun looked at Onew with worry and surprise, his voice catching in his throat for just a minute. “Why? What’s wrong?” His worry grew the longer he looked at Onew’s face. He knew something bad must have happened.

 

“It’s Lee and Maya,” Onew stated, never taking his commanding eyes off Jonghyun, “They’re with Key.”

 

Jonghyun’s eyes widened as his phone beeped and he hurriedly grabbed his phone out of his pocket and opened the message from Key. His phone nearly fell from his hand as he stared at the message in shock. Then, in a split second his hand tightened around his phone and he showed the same anger and ferocity that Onew did. He grabbed his jacket and pushed past Onew, something he would never normally do to his hyung. Luckily, Onew understood his anger and didn’t take it personally.

 

“I take it you got the picture too. So, you see what I mean now?” Onew asked Jonghyun following him out the door.

 

“Yeah. I do.” Jonghyun answered shortly, making a beeline to the car and gritting his teeth, “Key better be praying. Because he is not gonna like me coming for him. He’ll need all the help he can fucking get.” Jonghyun slid into the drivers seat of the car as Onew pulled up Key’s location from the photo. Jonghyun didn’t wait for Onew to even buckle his seatbelt. Once the location was up he punched on the gas.

 

Lee and Maya quickly gave up chasing Key and decided that it was best to just change back into their normal clothes. Lee was much faster. She emerged from the dressing room and immediately locked eyes with Key, who was sitting smugly in the waiting chair. “Key,” Her voice rang out sternly, “What did you do with those photos?”

 

He tried to act innocent as he looked up at her, “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

 

“Key, I’m not stupid,” She glared, “I know you took photos, and I know you sent them. Who did you send them to?”

 

He dropped the innocent boy act and smirked while inspecting his fingernails, “Oh, just people of interest.”

 

Lee’s blue eyes widened in shock, “Key, you did not. You did not send them to Eli, and Jonghyun and Onew!”

 

He smirked in response, “Maybe, maybe not.”

 

Lee opened her mouth to say more but was cut off by Key standing and Maya emerging from the dressing room. “Come on girls,” Key chirped taking both of their arms in his, “We have plenty more things to do.”

 

Lee rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath, “This is going to get really, really bad,” as Maya shot her friend a “Help me” look.


	20. The Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hold on guys. There might be a little(a lot?) of tension this chapter. And today is probably a double post kind of day.

Maya was definitely not comfortable with Key right now. She was all ready to have a good time shopping with her best friend and her new friend but then her new friend had to shove her into… well, into lingerie. Maya had never had her first kiss, never had a boyfriend, and never even _dreamed_ of wearing something like that let alone showing someone. And to top it off, she was pretty damn sure Key sent a picture to someone. And her suspicions were soon to be confirmed when her phone started singing in her pocket. She stopped in her tracks on the sidewalk in front of the boutique to fish out her phone.

 

After pacing outside the dance studio, he didn’t know how many times, Daehyun finally calmed down and stopped thinking about himself for once. He thought instead about Maya, and how innocent she seemed and how obvious it was that she had had a boyfriend, and how she probably didn’t want that picture to be taken, let alone sent to anyone. He sighed as he looked at his scratched up phone. His fingers slid the phone unlocked and found her name.

 

“Oppa?” Maya answered the phone trying not to sound as shaken as she was. Daehyun’s heart dropped on the other end of the line.

 

“Maya, are you okay?” his voice was calm and concerned. Maya felt like bursting into tears.

 

“I…” She started, faltering, “I…Key sent you the picture didn’t he?” She choked.

Daehyun let out a sigh, his heart breaking for Maya and how scared she sounded. “Yes, where are you? I’ll come pick you up. I know you didn’t want that to happen.”

 

“I… I didn’t know he’d do that.”

 

“I know. Just tell me where you are, babe. I’ll let you drive my motorcycle wherever you want.” He tried to make her smile. It worked.

 

“You have a motorcycle…?” Maya smiled.

 

“Yes, and I’ll let you drive. Just tell me where you are.” Maya nodded on the other side of the line, forgetting he couldn’t see her.

 

“I’ll text you my location.” Maya spoke softly. “Thank you, Oppa.” She whispered before hanging up the phone. She turned tell Key and Lee when they stopped midsentence because both of their phone’s were ringing. They answered them instantly and Maya sent Daehyun the text while they were distracted.

 

Key answered his phone to a screaming Jonghyun. “Ya! De-jul-eh!”

 

“Excuse me?” asked Key.

 

“You heard me. Do you wanna die? Are you looking for a fight? How the hell could you do that to Lee? I’m coming for you Key. So get ready.” Click. Dial tone. The line went dead on Key.

 

“Onew?” Lee answered the phone quietly. She knew he’d seen her picture. She felt like she was going to die of embarrassment.

 

“Don’t move from that shop. We are coming to get you.”

 

“what?”

 

“There’s no way in hell we are letting you stay with Key another second. And I doubt you want to be with him anyway. We are less than a minute away. Stay where you are.”

 

“we?”

 

“Me and Jonghyun.”

 

“I..”

 

“Stay where you are Lee. We’re almost there.” Click.

 

“Thanks.” Lee sighed into the dead line. She turned to Maya as Maya turned to her. They both spoke at the same time.

“Onew’s coming to get me”

“Daehyun’s coming to get me.”

 

They both laughed. “Well I guess we’re both being rescued,” Maya sighed.

 

A boy on a motorcycle practically rode onto the sidewalk. He lifted his visor and grinned at Amaya, offering her a helmet. She smiled back as she took the helmet. “Is it okay if we wait for Lee’s ride to get here?” Maya asked Daehyun. He started to nod when a car practically screeched into park on the curb.

 

The driver stormed out of the car and went straight for Key. Jonghyun’s fists tightened around Key’s shirt and his eyes glared into Key’s. “Do you have any idea as to what you just did?” Jonghyun growled.

 

Key laughed. Surprisingly calm given the situation. “Calm down. We were just having fun.” He tried to pry Jonghyun’s hands off his shirt.

 

“We implies that both parties were consenting.” Daehyun handed his helmet to Maya as he walked over to join Jonghyun. “I know for a fact that at least one was not.”

 

“I’d say two.” Onew joined in. calmly opening the back door for Lee to get into the car.

 

Key scoffed. “Guys, it’s no big deal.”

 

“What if those pictures got out?” Jonghyun tightened his grip.

 

“What if you really did send them to the ‘wrong person’?” Daehyun moved closer.

 

Amaya and Lee stood frozen. Watching the scene unfold. They knew that this was getting nowhere good fast, and soon people would realize that three SHINee members and one B.A.P member were about to get in a huge brawl. Lee saw how shaken up Maya was and decided that she should be the one to break it up. She walked over and placed a hand on Jonghyun’s shoulder. “It’s over and not worth it. Can we leave please?” She asked softly. She didn’t wait for an answer before getting into the back seat of the car.

 

Lee’s reaction snapped Amaya out of her trance just enough. “She’s right.” Maya said calmly. “Oppa, let’s go.” She slid her helmet on and climbed on to the front of Daehyun’s bike. She offered him his helmet while she slid her visor down. With a last glare Daehyun walked over to Maya, put on his helmet and sat behind her. Jonghyun released his grip on key and walked back to the car. Onew slid into the passenger seat and the car took off. Maya kicked off on the motorcycle shortly after.


	21. Long rides and appologies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, this one is pretty long. just a warning.

Amaya had forgotten how amazing it felt to speed off on a motorcycle, to weave in and out of cars, to live a little more dangerously than normal. She almost didn’t notice the extra weight on the back of the bike or the arms wrapped around her torso. But it was hard to not notice the laugh of pure joy that Daehyun let out when she went fast. It was intoxicating and contagious. And Amaya found herself really laughing for the first time in a while. She didn’t know when she started to become so serious about everything, or when it became hard to let herself go, or when she started to only feel herself when she was around Lee. But it was nice to feel free, and herself, and to be with someone who enjoyed the same thrills that she did. She was broken out of her thoughts by Daehyun’s voice. “So where are we going?”

Amaya laughed, “I don’t know! You tell me! You know this place better than I do.”

“I could take you to some cool places,” He laughed, “But I’d have to drive.” 

Amaya grinned under her helmet and pulled over. “Show me what you got.” She dismounted the bike to let Daehyun move down and then slung her self onto the back of the bike.

“Hold on!” He grinned. Maya wrapped her arms around his torso and let him take control. “How much time do you have?” He yelled behind her. 

“My manager is supposed to pick me up at 2:50.” She yelled back.

“Two hours then.” He grinned. “You down for some undercover street dancing?”

Amaya laughed. “Bring it on.”

It wasn’t long before they entered Hongdae the center of street dancing in Seoul. Daehyun was able to snag a spot and rig up some speakers that he told Amaya he “always had just in case.” Maya went to remove her helmet when Daehyun’s hand grabbed hers.

“Undercover, remember?” she could tell he was smiling under his helmet. And she laughed. 

“Okay. Undercover.” 

They danced for about an hour, gathering quite the crowd with many people asking them to take off their helmets and video taping their group dances and dance battles. For maya it was the perfect way to forget about what happened and to be herself completely. For Daehyun, he was in an entirely different world. He was seeing Amaya as she really was and she was spending time with him, and only him, and it was like living in a dream. When their hour was up Daehyun packed up everything back into the saddlebags and climbed on the motorcycle, motioning for Maya to join. She climbed on behind him. Lifted her visor for the first time in an hour and blew a kiss to the now screaming fans that recognized her. She laughed and yelled at Daehyun to step on it. 

They sped away in a fit of laughter, and Daehyun started to take her back to her loft. “I know we still have an hour, but I figured you might want to clean up and relax before your day gets all hectic again.” He smiled as he pulled up to the SM apartment building. He removed his helmet as she removed hers.

“Thank you, Oppa. Today was great.” She smiled as she dismounted. “I owe you one, Kay?” She smiled again as she attached the extra helmet to his bike. And before he could say anything she planted a kiss on his cheek and sprinted towards the door. Her heart was pounding as she tried to calm herself in the elevator on the way back to her dorm.

Daehyun pounded his fist in the air and let out a yell of joy before speeding off to rejoin his band members and tell them about his development. Surprisingly, he didn’t even think about bragging to Choi Minho, he was just focused on the pure bliss this day had brought him. 

Lee sat in the back of the car in nothing but silence. No one had said a word since they left the shop. Jonghyun’s eyes were focused on the road, driving them back to the apartments. Onew stared at his phone. He had a feeling Lee wasn’t ready to talk yet. He was right. She turned her head to face the window, her blue eyes staring emptily at the blur of scenery they passed. They hadn’t really been here for that long. It had been what, a little over a month since they got to Korea? And she’d already managed to make a lot of poor choices and cause Jonghyun a world of trouble. She sighed and looked down into her lap where she played with her hands mindlessly. Her thoughts kept drifting to the words that Jonghyun hissed at Key, “What if those pictures got out?” The words echoed in her mind, the image of Key’s shirt in Jonghyun’s fists burned in her mind. Jonghyun was right. What if the pictures did get out? It would cause so much trouble for her and Maya and for their career. She sighed at the thought of Maya. She couldn’t bear the thought of her best friend getting in trouble because of Key, or anyone really. Key knew what he was doing, but he thought it was all just fun, he didn’t understand the consequences, the chaos it could bring to all of their careers. Lee’s vision began to blur the more she thought about it. She tried to hold back her tears, full of frustration, stress, embarrassment, and painful memories. She shook her head. She didn’t want to think about it.

It only took a few more minutes to reach the apartments. Onew opened Lee’s door and she whispered a thank you in Korean as she exited the car. Jonghyun slung an arm around Lee’s shoulders in an attempt to comfort her, and the boys shuffled her into their apartment. Onew sat on the couch and gestured for Lee to join him. She sat quietly, her eyes on the floor. “Are you okay, Lee?” he asked quietly. She nodded. She still didn’t want to talk about it. Onew sighed. He wouldn’t press the matter. Jonghyun went in the kitchen and made Lee a cup of tea. 

She took the tea from him with a soft smile and whispered a thank you. She drank the tea quietly as Jonghyun spoke. “I don’t want you to worry about this, okay? Onew, and me we’re gonna fix it? okay?” Lee nodded. She knew he was trying to be reassuring. The boys shared a look, one that meant, “you see that she’s hurting too right?” 

After Lee finished her tea she stood up and gave them the most beautiful smile she could manage. “Thank you for saving me and Maya from Key, both of you.” She looked at both of them, “but, I think I’m going to head back home. I’m really tired. I’ll see you guys later, okay?” she waved and started making her way towards the door. Onew stood up and lightly grabbed her arm to stop her.

“Would you like me to walk you back?” he asked, still looking concerned. Lee shook her head.

“No, thank you. I’ll be fine.” She smiled up at him and pulled him into a hug. He hugged her back tightly and she pulled away to leave. 

On the way back to her apartment she sighed and rubbed her eyes at the tears that kept forming. And bit them back even more as her memories started to resurface. She thought about her ex, and how no one but Maya really knew about him. About how she thought he was the sweetest person in the whole world once. She thought about how she used her, in more ways than one and the pictures that they would take together. She clearly remembered the day he stopped being the sweetest person, the day she found out that she was being used, and that he was cheating on her. It was a normal day, just like any other, her and Maya were shopping in the mall, about to embark on another hot topic shopping spree when she heard his laugh and turned to see a sight that broke her heart. He was kissing another girl and happily buying her things. She couldn’t believe her eyes and walked up to confront him and then things went south real fast. Somehow she was the one in the wrong and she was crazy, and no one would ever date her. Pictures were posted with mean comments about how ugly she was and about how no one would ever want to be with her. She was bullied in school, and everything, everything was wrong. 

Lee looked at the floor as she bit back more tears. She’d almost made it to the door when she heard a familiar deep voice. “Hey, Lee.” Bang Younguk stood leaning on a wall outside their apartment. Lee faked a smile and waved as she walked into the apartment and shut the door before he could say anything. 

Bang was concerned, and not just because a girl he really liked barely acknowledged his presence. She seriously looked hurt, and it was obvious that something just went down without his knowledge. He sighed, as he knew what he had to do. Lee was always with those damn SHINee boys. So, they probably knew what was up. He headed down the hallway and took the stairs down a flight to get to the SHINee dorm. 

Amaya’s heart rate finally slowed when she reached her floor and she was able to think a lot about what had happened that day. The boys were harsh on Key, and he really didn’t mean to hurt her or Lee. He was just trying to have fun. And honestly, they did look good in everything Key put them in. They’d just have to talk a little bit about why what happened wasn’t okay. 

Amaya opened the door to their loft and slid off her shoes. She could tell lee was in her room, probably sketching away the memories of the day, and the past. She knew what happened couldn’t have brought up any good memories. Amaya tentatively opened up Lee’s door and stood in the doorframe.

“You okay?”

“Better after drawing.” Lee looked up from her sketchpad.

“Bad memories?”

“Yeah.”

“Hot topic mall fiasco memory?” Lee let out a small laugh.

“Yeah. And everything that happened afterwards.”

“You know Key didn’t mean any harm.”

“I know. But you were more shaken up than I was. And he did cause harm.”

“He made a stupid mistake. We did look hot though.” Lee laughed.

“You looked hot.” Maya grinned and slipped behind her to tickle her.

“No, Lee. We looked hot. You, me, both of us. In everything he put us in.” Lee was having a hard time, trying glare and laughing from being tickled at the same time. “I think we should apologize to Key for the boys, and talk to him about why this wasn’t okay.” She stopped tickling Lee. Lee looked at Maya with a look of awe and surprise.

“Look at you acting all grown up. You’d think something major must have just happened to you in the hour that you were gone.” Lee suppressed a gasp, “No. Did something happen with you in Daehyun? Are you like… a real adult now?” she grinned, forgetting the painful memories that had been brought up.

“Oh my god,” Maya laughed smacking lee in the arm, “No. Nothing happened. Well, a little something happened. I kissed him.” Lee’s mouth fell open. “On the cheek.” Lee broke into some real laughter. 

“Maya! I thought something big happened! But all you did was kiss a boy on the cheek and now you feel all grown up!” Maya blushed deep red.

“Shut up. I’m calling Key. He still has to teach you Korean anyway.” Maya turned on her heal, her face beet red and Lee dying of laughter behind her. She dialed Key’s number and he picked up on the first ring.

“Maya I am so-“ she cut him off.

“It’s okay. Why don’t you come over and we can talk? Lee still needs her Korean lesson anyway, and I already miss all those fabulous outfits you put us in… you know aside from the last one.” Maya smiled.

“Okay, I’ll come right over. And I’ll bring the bags and I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Key.” Click. Maya hung up the phone and returned to Lee’s room where she had finally stopped laughing. “I think… maybe you should tell him about the hot topic fiasco.” Lee stared at her dumbstruck. “I think it would really help him to understand, and it would help him to not make a similar mistake in the future.”

“Then you have to tell him about why you were so upset. You need to tell him that you’ve never worn anything considered sexy, on purpose, and that you have never kissed a boy, or had a boyfriend. And you need to tell him why.”

“Why?” Maya gulped.

“Yes. You need to tell him about Alex.”

“I didn’t even think about her when this whole thing happened!”

“Bull shit you didn’t think about the bitch who sexted every single guy who looked your way pretending to be you and tried to take pictures of you in the locker room.”

Maya groaned. “I seriously didn’t. But now I ammm.” 

“Well, I don’t believe you, and I think if I have to talk about hot topic you have to talk about locker room paparazzi.” Amaya sighed. 

“Fine.” She opened her mouth to say more but a soft knock on the door meant that key was here and it was time to fix everything. Maya opened the door and Key came in and immediately enveloped her in a hug, 10 shopping bags and all. Maya chuckled. “Put those down and come in.” She turned to Lee who was standing in the doorway to her room. “Come on, let’s sit down.” Lee and Maya sat on one couch and Key sat on the couch opposite.

“Can I just start by saying I’m sorry?” Key looked apologetic and more vulnerable than they had ever seen him. His cool guy exterior was completely shattered. “Your friendship means a lot to me. And I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was just trying to have fun.”

“We know.” Maya smiled. “We just thought that we should talk about why it hurt us so much so we can go back to being good friends, better even. Because you’ll have a deeper understanding of us.” Key looked relieved.

“So you’re not kicking me to the curb?” Lee laughed.

“No. Not yet, if it happens again, maybe.” Lee looked serious.

“Lee!” Maya smacked her arm. “It was really tough on Lee and me both. It brought up some bad memories.” She looked at Key and then to Lee, “And since Lee is more reluctant than I, I’ll go first.” And so Maya took a deep breath and explained to Key her whole situation. That it wasn’t just that she was innocent and hadn’t ever been in a relationship it was also Alex. There was a girl who decided to make her life a living hell after finding out her boyfriend had a crush on her. She took photos of Maya in the locker room changing, sent erotic text messages to anyone who looked at her twice and pretty much made Maya into the slut of the school even though she was the most innocent person there. Maya finished by telling key that everything that happened to her pretty much happened around the same time Lee’s problems did, and that the two problems combined caused the girls to seek legal action for slandering and change high schools. 

Lee stared at Maya her jaw dropped while Key listened to the story, understanding why his actions were taken as so hurtful. Lee didn’t think Maya would do it. She never talked about Alex, never. And now that she had, Lee knew she had to tell Key about her jerk of an ex. And she knew that they had to make up with Key, because Maya sincerely wanted to. Lee sighed. Maya’s story was over and it was her turn.

“Before you say anything, Key.” Lee started, “Let me tell my story. It might be less painful that way.” Maya reached over and held Lee’s hand while giving her an encouraging smile. And so Lee told Key about the stupid hot topic fiasco, about the pictures, and the cyber bullying, about how hurt it made her and about how this whole mess brought it all back up. How for a really long time Maya was the only person she trusted and how Key seriously betrayed her trust today and how it was going to be difficult for her to let things get back to normal. Key sat in silence for a moment before replying.

“I…I had no idea you two had been though so much. I know I was stupid and a little reckless, but I really really didn’t mean you guys harm and I’ve already deleted the pictures and I made all of SHINee delete them as well and I figure that Daehyun did too because he came to pick you up,” He looked at Maya who nodded, “I promise it wont happen again. And I’ll be more thoughtful. I just want to have fun with you guys, really.” 

“We know.” Maya looked at Key and smiled. “I forgive you.” She turned to look at Lee and wait for her response.


	22. Readings and Lessons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a filler chapter here guys. We will be doing a time jump soon so get ready for possible new groups and our story to finally take place in current time.

Lee looked at Key, smiled lightly and nodded, "Yeah I forgive you; just please consider the risk of your actions." Her soft smile stayed put and it was obvious that she was sincere. Key was practically oozing with joy as he rushed out of his seat and hugged both of the girls. "Besides I need a fashionable guru." Lee chuckled.

 

"You betcha!" Key grinned, his smile faded a bit as a thought crossed his mind "Oh that's right its time for your lesson." He said. Lee groaned; she didn't want to. But Maya and Key just grinned at her and set up the lesson. In no time teacher key had pounced into action.

 

About an hour passed with no interruption from the lesson. Then the door clicked and their managers strolled in. Lee’s attention immediately went from the lesson to the door, as did Amaya’s attention from her script to the door. Hye Mi locked eyes with Lee and smiled, “So, how is the lesson coming along?”

 

Lee shrugged, “It’s getting there.” Akki Ho gave a curt nod before responding.

 

“So, did you leave here for another one of your ‘adventures’?”

 

Key looked at Maya and Lee with a quick wink before smiling at their managers and replying in the calmest good boy voice imaginable. “No sir. Lee has been here working diligently on her lessons as instructed.”

 

Akki Ho and Hye Mi exchanged a nod and Akki Ho spoke, “Good. Good. I’m glad.” He directed this at Key before smiling at Lee, “You’ll be speaking and reading like a pro in no time, Lee.”

 

Lee looked at Key slightly dumbfounded. He smirked and winked in return before returning to their lesson. Amaya and their managers took the silence that followed as their invitation to leave and Maya was off to follow her schedule while Lee was left to finish hers. Luckily, lessons with Key were more interesting than the stack of worksheets Eli set up for her. Key used Kpop songs to help teach her sentence structure, flow and pronunciation. He picked out lyrics and had Lee repeat them back, correcting her when they were wrong, explaining the meaning etc. The lesson went on for a few more hours until he jotted down a list of Kdramas Lee was to look up and watch, with English subtitles of course, so that she could practice listening to Korean and understand how it changes with different situations. And then he was on his way to his own schedule.

 

Lee took his absence as a short break as she readied herself for some solo dance practice. She saw it was her independent practice time, which meant her managers at least trusted her enough to believe she’d practice by herself and wouldn’t need a babysitter. That much was nice. She had just filled her water bottle, slung a towel over her shoulder and thrown her shoes in the dance studio, since she wasn’t supposed to wear them in “the house”, when she heard a knock at the door. She opened the door to a rather angry looking Bang.

 

When Lee answered the door Bang didn’t have time to waste. He was on a mission. He was upset. She was hurt. “Why didn’t you tell me?” his words got right to the point. There wasn’t any need for greeting. Lee slightly rolled her eyes.

 

“It’s fine, Youngguk. Everything has been handled and taken care of.” He looked her up and down, skeptical. “I promise.” Lee added with a smile.

 

Bang nodded slowly. Relief filled him, not that you could tell. He took in her appearance and sighed. She wore leggings and a tight fitting tank top. A towel was slung over her shoulder, a water bottle in her hand. “Are you going anywhere?” he asked. Maybe she was going to go for a run. She shook her head.

 

“No, I have to practice my dance.”

 

Bang entered the apartment, closing the door behind him and kicking off his shoes. “I’ll watch.” She looked too good to be dancing for no one.

 

“Ah… okay?” Lee didn’t really know how to respond. It was obvious that saying no wasn’t an answer. The boy was already in their house, his shoes already off. His eyes wandered the apartment, trying to figure where the studio was. She shrugged, accepted the situation and led him to the practice room. She started her stretches on the bar and then on the floor as she hummed and tuned out the boy who awkwardly entered the room and sat down, seemingly on his phone.

 

Lee’s body moved seamlessly to the music. Following the choreography to a tee while adding her own flair. Younggok watched her taking in every movement. Her dancing was beautiful, artistic and flowing. He watched the stress and worry disappear from her face as she gave into the music. A smirk grew on his face as he watched her twirl her hips and move her body to the beat. Heat rose inside him as he took in the shape of her body, the slight pucker and parting of her lips, the way her eyes followed the same spot on the mirror like it was a camera. He locked his eyes with hers in the mirror and watched her face falter just a bit at the sight of his smirk. His smirk turned into a smile, she smiled back and continued through the choreography. He enjoyed her company in silence, while she lost herself in the music once more.

 

Amaya left with Hye Mi and Akki ho with a smile on her face. She was glad Key and Lee made up so quickly, that Key covered for them, and that everything would go back to normal. Also, she was quite happy with the way Lee was learning Korean with Key teaching. She was also stoked for her first script reading with the cast. They’d start filming next week, which was super fast paced for a drama, but the director insisted that everyone showed so much promise there was no use in delaying it. Amaya hugged her script close her chest as she climbed in the back of the van. Hye Mi was taking her to her reading; Akki ho was going to the studio to do whatever they did. Her heart beat violently against the script as she stared out the window. Hye Mi’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

           

“Nervous?” Maya could only manage to nod. She knew Hye Mi was watching in the rearview mirror anyway. Her manager let out a chuckle, “You’ll do great. Everyone raved about your audition.” Maya nodded again. She loosened her grip on the script letting it slid down into her lap where she lightly fingered through the pages reading over her lines again and again.

 

“This one is altered.” Maya’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“hm? What’d you say?” Hye mi’s eyes peaked into the mirror again.

 

“After I auditioned. They altered the storyline. I have two love interests…” Maya’s eyes ran over the script again and again. Hye mi chuckled.

 

“They always put two love interests in.”

 

“They made one American.” Hye mi raised her eyebrows.

 

“I wonder where they found another American actor.” Hye mi pulled into the parking lot and shuffled Maya out of the car, into a foreign building, down a hallway and into a conference room. “I’ll pick you up when it’s over.” Hye mi smiled brightly at Maya before pulling a fist down in front of her face and softly whispering, “Fighting!” to her little trainee turned idol. And then she left. Maya turned around to face the conference room full of the people she’d act with and plastered a smile on her face before bowing and greeting everyone with the politest neatest Korean she’d ever spoken. She lifted her head to meet the eyes of all the actors. The first pair of eyes she met were soft brown.

 

“Sunbae!” Maya smiled at none other than Choi Minho, “You got the part! You didn’t tell me!”

 

Minho was only slightly surprised by the perfect Korean that flowed from Amaya’s mouth. He knew she spoke it well, he knew she spoke English around them for Lee’s sake, but there was something about seeing her eyes light up and speak to him in such a way and in his language that was both unfamiliar and inviting. It made him feel closer to her and special. But the feeling of being special vanished when she spoke to everyone else in the same cheery voice. Still, she didn’t speak to Daehyun in Korean. At least he didn’t think she did.

 

Maya made the rounds, meeting everyone she was to work with in quick succession. She was happy for Minho’s presence, even if he didn’t realize it; he calmed her nerves a bit. Once she made the rounds they all took their seats and the director started talking to them about the script etc. Maya searched for the other pair of foreign eyes that were supposed to be there. She raised her hand when the director was finished to ask the question burning in her mind.

 

“Where’s the actor who’s going to play Mike? I was hoping to meet him. We’re supposed to be very close friends in the script.”

 

The director smiled, “I really love your enthusiasm, Amaya. The actor we’ve hired to play Mike should be arriving late today. And yes, he really is American, like you. He’s a little diamond in the rough we found, he came to Korea for a break and to “rekindle his artistic talents” auditioned for us on a whim. Worked out well really.” The director’s smile turned into a beam. “Let’s run through the dialog where Sun Hee finds out their moving back to Korea, shall we?”

 

“Mom…what’s the occasion?” Amaya looked at the actor playing her mother skeptically.

 

“Eat.” she smiled. Amaya raised an eyebrow.

 

“Mom…” Her eyes burned into her mother’s, as Amaya became her character. “Dad…?”

 

Men’s reserve was always weaker than Women’s. The man sighed. “Sun Hee, it’s about the company.” Amaya dropped her imaginary chopsticks.

 

“Is it doing badly?” Concerned filled her voice her eyes pouring into the man’s. He smiled softly.

 

“No, it’s quite the opposite really. I am needed in Korea. To make sure our extended firm is doing well.”

 

Relief filled Maya. And a smile crept on her face. “So we are moving?” the couple nodded slowly, looking worried. “It’s the middle of the school year!” Maya sighed, “That really blows.” She looked at the couple again and smiled. “Seoul?” her smile turned into a grin. Relief filled the woman’s eyes.

 

“I thought you’d be angry.”

 

“Mom. Korea is my home as much as it’s yours. I lived there for 7 years. The first 7 years of my life that I had a real family and a real home. I’m happy to go back!” Maya went though a range of emotions from nostalgic to ecstatic. A realization hit her hard. Her eyes widened and she looked at the couple again. “Wait. I’m going to have to wear a uniform wont I?”

 

“And cut!” The director’s voice cut through the illusion. “Great job guys! Love the emotion, Maya!”

 

Scene by scene they worked through the script like this. Skipping over any scenes with the character Mike involved. After a while the door to the conference room opened slowly. Blonde hair and then blue eyes poked their heads in the door. Soon a tall American boy stood in the middle of the doorway.

 

“Sorry for being late…” The boy spoke in English. The whole room shifted.

 

“That’s alright!” The director responded in English with a smile before turning to address everyone else in Korean, “Everyone except for Choi Minho, and Amaya can leave.” The next scenes only involved the three characters they played. Amaya stood from her chair to introduce herself to her fellow actor while the room cleared out.

 

He stared at her. Hard. “I.. uh… sorry…” he muttered when he realized her hand was reached out for him to shake. He shook her hand, trying not to stare too hard. “You’re uh… you’re Amaya Serene aren’t you?” a blush covered his face. Maya smiled.

“Yes. You know me… how?”

 

“I…” his face reddened, “I went to your concert… I’m a fan actually.” Amaya laughed.

 

“That’s awesome! Nice to meet you, and it should be fun to work together. It’s nice to see another American, and I’m glad you enjoy my music.” She beamed at him. his blush reddened. “You’re gonna need to stop blushing if you’re gonna play the part of my best friend.” The boy smiled.

 

“That wont be a problem. I’m a great actor. Besides, it helps that my character is not only a lot like me, but we share a name.” Maya laughed again.

 

“That makes things easy.”

 

Jealously burned on Minho’s face. There was no reason for him to be jealous. Or mad. Or annoyed. But he was. He was all of them. Seeing Amaya laughing with another boy was always hard, but that wasn’t what bothered him. It was the scenes. The acting. The way Mike slung his arm around Maya, how Maya cheerfully called him Oppa, how Maya flung her arms around him in tight embraces. It didn’t matter to Minho that it was acting, that she was playing a part and so was this boy. So when it came to his part to act jealous in the scene it wasn’t hard. When it was all over the director praised all of their acting and Minho was excited to part ways with the perky American boy. He grabbed Maya by the hand and practically dragged her out of the conference room muttering an excuse about their show appearance and their manager’s waiting that Amaya accepted without a second thought. Lee wasn’t kidding, that girl was oblivious.

 

Amaya smiled at Minho as they waited outside for their managers to swing by and pick them up for their tv appearances. “Today was fun.” She grinned at him.

 

All of Minho’s anger and jealously melted away at the sight of Amaya smiling brightly at him. “Yeah, it was.” He smiled back. It took everything in him not to sweep her up into a tight embrace. He couldn’t wait for episode ten of their drama. He opened his mouth to say more but he was silenced by the cars that pulled in front of them. It was time to part ways again. This was the part of being an Idol that he hated. Maya shot him a smile and waved and she climbed into her manager’s car and like that she was gone again.


	23. Endings and tours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE! I'm alive. 
> 
> reasons why it's been forever since I posted:   
>  1\. I just got back from studying a semester in KOREA.  
>  2\. I am graduating this year so life is hectic af  
> 3\. My co-writer, the lovely Lee, has no computer and is borrowing people's to write.  
> 4\. The very same lovely Lee is GETTING MARRIED SOON.
> 
> So, basically, life took over, but we are back and we do plan on finishing this story... eventually. Thanks for sticking with us guys!

Time passed like that for months. There were brief moments where Maya and Minho shared something special on screen that he felt was so real, and then the moments were gone. Maya and Lee were busy bees. Maya’s schedule had no wiggle room. She had filming to do, recording to do with Lee, dancing to practice with Lee, appearances to make both with and without Lee on TV and in person, songwriting to try and pencil in, lessons to take. Her encounters with Daehyun and B.A.P were limited to the rare times when she had time to work on choreography with Jo Rin (their shared choreographer) and when Daehyun was able to convince her managers to allow him to pick her up from filming to go to the studio, which was rare but a welcome occurrence. Her encounters with SHINee were limited as well, she almost never saw Taemin, barely saw Jonghyun and Onew and pretty much only saw them in passing, saw Key when he would randomly swoop by to help Lee with lessons or shove a new fashion experiment in her hands, and Minho, well she saw him every time they filmed. Life was busy and all the room for boys and adventure was gone. Lee felt it too. Between Korean lessons, singing lessons, dancing lessons, appearances with and without Maya, and designing, life was full. Jonghyun and Onew stopped by to see her when they could, Key taught her lessons sometimes and Eli taught sometimes, Minho and Taemin were ghosts, B.A.P she would see on occasion with Maya and Jo Rin and sometimes Bang would show up out of nowhere when his schedule was empty and just be with Lee while she worked. Before they knew it Maya was shooting her last scene of her drama and the SHINee boys were getting ready to leave on their world tour.

 

The ending of the drama was cliché, like all dramas. The American best friend returned to America and gave his best wishes to the guy who beat him to the girl. Amaya’s character felt at home and pushed past all the barriers that made her feel foreign, her love interest, played by Minho, realized his wrongs and took her in his arms. Minho’s eyes poured into hers as he finally confessed his feelings and kissed her. It was Amaya’s first kiss, and it was lovely. Minho kissed her with passion and love and Amaya kissed him back, his hands cupped her face and her hands reached up to wrap around his neck. The camera panned out long and wide, and the two were drawn apart by a loud “CUT! AND THAT’S A WRAP FOLKS!” Everyone cheered. Amaya untangled herself from Minho and blushed a deep red. He looked at her, breathless. The director came up and placed a hand on both of their shoulders telling them what a great job they did and how that kiss was the most realistic one he’d filmed in a long time. Amaya nodded and gave a quiet thank you.

 

“You okay, kid?” The director looked at Maya, confused at her sudden quiet demeanor. She nodded and blushed deeper.

 

“Yeah… it’s just… that was my first kiss.” The director and Minho’s jaws dropped at the same time. The director opened his mouth, about to say something smart like, “well that’s one hell of a first kiss” when Amaya’s manager flagged her down yelling something about needing to get going for her next appointment. Amaya took the lifeline Hye mi extended her and ran with it. She needed to get the hell out of there and fast.

 

While Maya was busy with her schedule and drama and whatnot, Lee was attempting to clean up their apartment. She didn’t really feel quite comfortable with the idea of having a maid so she and Maya mostly picked up the apartment when they could and their managers would try and sneak the maids in when they were gone. When she finally felt like the place was cleaned up a bit she plopped on the couch and picked up her phone. The screen flashed a text from Jonghyun; he said they’d be leaving on their world tour in a few days and they’d be gone for a while. Lee looked at her phone eyes wide as she realized that just a few days ago Bang had told her the same thing. Her lips curved into a sly smile as she jumped up and ran to her closet to get dressed in some inconspicuous clothes. She’d be throwing them a going away party. Once she was dressed she sent a quick mass text to SHINee and BAP telling them to come over in a few hours and ran out the door to grab supplies. Obviously they’d need food and drinks and decorations. She didn’t even realize how much she’d gotten until it was all sprawled out in the nice freshly cleaned living room. She shrugged it off and got to work. She was on the last banner, which she, being 4’10”, decided it would be best to put up on the highest overhang she could find, when Maya walked through the door.

 

Maya tried her hardest not to laugh too much at her friend struggling to put up the banner standing on her tiptoes as high on a chair as she could. “Lee,” Maya said calmly trying not to startle her, “What are you doing?” She looked around the room confused, taking in all the decorations.

 

“Oh! Good!” Lee turned and grinned at her, “You’re home! Come help me, child!” Maya smiled and rolled her eyes as she went to assist her poor vertically challenged friend.

 

“So, what’s going on?” Maya questioned as she tapped up the banner, she could reach the spot much easier on _her_ tiptoes.

 

“SHINee and BAP are both going away on world tours in a few days, so I figured we’d throw them a going away party!” Lee clapped her hands together as they finished putting the banner up and climbed down. Maya’s eyes widened in shock.

 

“Wait… you mean they’re leaving?

 

“Yup! Now come help me finish up.” Lee motioned to Maya and she shook off the shock to help finish prepping the party.

 

A short while after they finished the doorbell rang to reveal the cutely grinning boys and the apartment was flooded with the two boy-bands the girls had become so close to. Lee directed them to the kitchen to grab some food and they all set out to eat and talk and have a good time. Lee found herself sitting in between Jonghyun and Bang and even more surprisingly, she found herself feeling sappy. “It’s going to be weird not seeing you guys everyday or every other day.” Bang shrugged and flashed her an award-winning smile.

 

“It will be okay! That’s what voice and video calls are for,” he waved his phone in the air to make his point. Jonghyun nodded.

 

“And texting. Whenever you want.” He added with a wink. Lee smirked and let out a small giggle, while Bang rolled his eyes.

 

Across the room Maya stood against the wall talking to Minho and Daehyun. Well, mostly to daehyun because she was trying desperately not to think about earlier. Daehyun’s arm leaned against the wall and he leaned in to talk to her, Minho glared and Deehyun inched closer by the second. Maya was oblivious. “I just can’t believe you’re all leaving.” She looked towards the ground. Daehyun lifted her chin and smiled sweetly at her.

           

“I’ll only be a phone call away. You can call or video chat me whenever you want, and I promise I’ll pick up whenever, no matter what.” Maya’s eyes lit up and her cheeks reddened.

           

“Really, oppa? You promise?”

           

“Of course.”

           

Minho’s arm rested on the other side of Maya as he took her chin from Daehyun’s hands and turned her head towards him. “That’s twice as true for me, Maya. I’ll be here whenever you need me.” Amaya’s whole face started turning the shade of a ripe strawberry. She gulped as she remembered their kiss earlier and nodded her head before abruptly moving her whole body forward and towards the kitchen.

           

“I-I know” She stammered looking Minho in the eyes before looking into the kitchen and nervously laughing. “I’m going to go grab a drink!” After she’d cooled down a bit and downed a Dr. Pepper and a half Maya returned to the party to mingle.

 

Minutes turned into hours and before anyone knew it, it was time for the boys to leave and everyone to get to bed. Taemin and Key gave their goodbyes first keeping it short and sweet, but not without Taemin squeeling a little when the girls called him Oppa. Their hugs were brief, as were Zelo, Jongup, Youngjae, and Himchan’s. Both Bang and Jonghyun gave Lee hugs that she thought she’d never be released from, she had to tell them both to let go sometime and they had both nodded and let go promptly after being told so. But, Jonghyun, being Jonghyun, wasn’t satisfied with just that and right before running out the door, in full view of bang, turned around and kissed Lee on the cheek. He ran out after, leaving lee’s eye’s wide with shock and bang muttering death threats under his breath.

 

Daehyun picked Maya up in a hug and whispered about how she’d better pick up his calls before placing a kiss on her cheek and strutting out the door. Maya’s shock was short lived because she was pulled into the kitchen and straight into Minho’s arms shortly after Daehyun’s kiss. Her face was buried in his chest and he held her tightly. “I just…I just want you to know, that if I had a choice, I’d never leave you.” He pulled her closer, “And I… we… our kiss today…” Minho’s voice trailed off as he loosened his grip and looked Maya in the eyes, “That was real. And…”

 

“Sunbae...” Maya half interrupted half replied. The word stung Minho harder than it ever did before. He sighed and dropped his arms to his side.

 

“Would it kill you to call me oppa? Just once?”

 

“O…Oppa…” The word came timidly out of Maya’s mouth as her blush deepened, “M-make sure you call!” Maya summoned all of her courage and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek before running into her room, her heart pounding out of her chest. She still couldn’t quite sort out her feelings, Daehyun always felt exciting and the way he looked at her made her feel things she couldn’t describe. But Minho was comforting and that kiss they shared was something she’d never experienced before in her life, but she didn’t know if it was because that was her first kiss or if it was the acting or what. But it was something. They were both something. Amaya’s back pressed against her door as she slid down to sit on the floor.

 

“Oh my god.” Her head rested in her hands, “My life is a fucking K-drama.”


	24. MCountdown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you see the change in tags? yes my friends, new bands are coming.
> 
>  
> 
> There is an end to this somewhere.

The days leading up to their departure flew by and the girls were thrown full into preparing for a short two week Japan tour. Lee and Maya were pretty much fluent in Japanese so the preparation went by quickly. There was no need to put them through language training to sing their songs in Japanese, in face Lee and Maya sped up the process by translating a few for the company. Recording had always been easy for the girls, they really shined in the studio, and the choreography was the same so there was no need to practice excessively. Lee had become more comfortable in front of the camera since their last shoot so shooting the promotional videos and photo book weren’t too draining. Without the boys to distract them, the girls threw themselves into work to keep their minds off their goofy grins and all the fun trouble they’d cause. Soon days turned into weeks, and they were standing on a stages in front of screaming fans, going to fan meetings speaking in Japanese and taking pictures. They were allowed a little bit of sight seeing but because they were a larger hit it Japan than expected their outings were limited and full of heavy security. A week didn’t go by where the girls received some form of contact from one of the boys, but they were all busy and conversations, while not unwelcome, were brief and rushed. Before the girls knew it weeks turned into months and they were nearly finished with their next album and debuting their new single on MNet Countdown.

 

The girls had taken part in MNet Countdown multiple times but they never really shook off their amazement. Every week was something different, performing was a blast and watching and meeting the other performers was something they looked forward to almost as much. This was at least the third time the girls had watched a newer band called VIXX. Their dancing never stopped impressing the girls and they would totally be lying if they said they didn’t occasionally steal trainees from their company to do VIXX’s dances with. The lights went up and the fans started their chant while the girls watched from backstage, they were up next.

 

“ **Cha Hakyeon. Jung Taekwoon. Lee Jaehwan. Kim Wonsik. Lee Hongbin. Han Sanghyuk. V. I. X. X!** ”

 

The cheers could be heard throughout the whole concert hall and well into backstage. The girls watched eagerly for the song to start, ready to take in the new dance. As always the girls were amazed by how in sync all the members were and how each move seemed to flow together and depend on each person in the group. They admired the way they moved as a unit and as individuals at the same time, and how they seemed to be, quite honestly, the best put-together group they’d ever seen. While SHINee acted like a family and BAP acted like best friends, VIXX seemed to work together as a team, as different parts of one functioning system. It made the girls even more curious about how the members were off the stage. Immediately after the rap, which was, admittedly, always Amaya’s favorite part (even though she can’t rap to save her life), the girls were shoed to a different part of backstage for final adjustments on their mics so they could go on next. It always drove the girls crazy that they never got to finish seeing the performance of the performers in front of them, and it was even more so this time, because they wanted to learn the newest VIXX dance. But they had a job to do, so they listened without ever complaining out loud.

 

VIXX stood backstage catching their breath, as they were detached from their microphones. They stared intently at the stage as 43ver the flaw’s fan chant roared through the audience. The two girls never ceased to impress the boy band. Normally, they would watch girl groups perform and be ever so slightly bored with the choreography, but not with 43ver the flaw. Their choreography was always challenging and they would often catch the background dancers looking out of breath, but never Amaya or Aleera. They were always performing in the mood of the song and giving it their all, this new song happened to be upbeat and happy, and there wasn’t ever a moment where they caught the girls loosing their smile.

 

Leo never stopped staring at Lee, not from the very first time they saw the girls perform. There was something about her that drew him to her like a moth to a flame. She was beautiful but he could tell that she was more than that; she was passionate, and she seemed like she knew about life from looking at her. He couldn’t quite describe it, but he knew he loved her. Leo was a strong believer in love at first sight, not because looks were everything, but because he believed when you saw the one, you’d know it. He felt that with Lee, and he’d never even formally met her. He decided quickly that that needed to change.

 

Ravi’s eyes locked on Amaya. He’d normally focus on whoever tended to be the better dancer, or whoever would rap, but even from 43ver the Flaw’s first performance his eyes always seemed to be drawn to Maya. She was energetic, and threw her everything into her performances, she knew what she was doing and it was obvious that she knew herself, she wasn’t the type to lose her self in something, but instead to find herself in everything. She was stunning and the energy she surrounded herself and others with seemed to make her glow like she wasn’t even human. He’d never spoken a single word to her, but somehow, he knew she was everything he wanted in a woman. As the song ended he knew he had to somehow convince her to go on a date with him. He wanted to walk her down the streets of Myeongdong and watch her eyes light up at everything around her, he wanted to treat her to delicious food and hear her laugh. He’d never spoken a word to her, but he wanted to make her his.

 

As soon as the girls’ set ended VIXX was shooed back into their dressing room to clean up a bit before their fan meet. As they walked out of their dressing room and turned to walk towards their fan meet and greet they saw Maya and Lee walking ahead of them in the same direction. The boys followed the girls and tilted their heads in confusion but shook it off then they heard the screams, it was obvious that their fan meetings were happening in the same place. They flashed their fans smiles and waves as they walked to their designated area and stole glances at the other side of the room where a large crowd gathered around the grinning girls.

 

As Ravi talked with his fans and signed autographs he couldn’t stop himself from stealing glances to the other side of the room where Maya grinned and talked to her fans as though they were her lifelong friends. He kept trying to concentrate on his job and cater to his fans but Maya’s face was making it very difficult for him, especially when he would look over and catch a glimpse of her hazel-green eyes. It took every ounce of his being not to stare at her the whole time. Probably the 10th time he looked her way her hazel-green eyes locked with hers and she sent him a smile that made his heart want to pound out of his chest.

 

Leo was having nearly the same difficulties. He stole as many looks at Lee has he could manage and caught himself pulling his poker face on again and again when all he wanted to do was smile softly and look at Lee. When he wasn’t stealing glances he was thinking about how he admired Lee and Maya for taking on the huge roll of being a Korean idol when they weren’t even Korean. He thought about how Koreans completely dominated the industry and foreigners making it as a kpop artist was practically unheard of, but they did it. They gained a huge following and were always careful to keep up appearances and traditions in a “Korean” fashion. He couldn’t even imagine all the hardships they incurred through just being foreigners, let alone foreigners in this industry. His poker face faded as he smiled and looked over at the girl he admired so much.

 

Ravi and Leo continued this pattern for a while until they were very strongly nudged, or in other words: until Ken strongly elbowed them both in the ribs while smiling adoringly at their fans. Both Ravi and Leo recoiled slightly before smiling at their fans and continuing to do their job: make small talk and sign autographs. They would get Ken back later.

 

The girls smiled and thanked the crew as they were unhooked from their mics and practically ran into their dressing room to clean up. They were practically pushed into makeup chairs where their stylist hurried to wipe off all the sweat and reapply their colorful makeup. The girls stared into the mirrors still trying to recognize themselves. Amaya’s hair was no longer multi-colored and super long. Her bangs no longer swooped in front of her face; instead her hair fell down in in even layers that framed her face and just barely reached her mid back, the color was a platinum silver so blinding it was almost white. The color made her eyes strikingly beautiful; she no longer saw just green with a hint of hazel but instead she saw eyes that bore layers of green with speckles of gold and hazel throughout. Lee’s hair didn’t fall in long gold ringlets that framed her face anymore either. Her hair had be chopped into an angled bob that reached her shoulders at its longest and she had bangs that ever so slightly swooped across her forehead. The color was a brilliant display of purple hues that made her blue eyes look unreal. The more she stared the more she couldn’t believe she was looking at herself.

 

As soon as the makeup artists were satisfied, the girls ran out of the room towards their fan meet, it was always their favorite part. They loved to be surprised by their fans, and they never failed to underestimate the size so they were always blown away by the turnout. Lee grinned from ear to ear waving happily as they entered the fan meet location, there was no doubt that she was just as happy to see them as they were to see 43ver the Flaw. Maya grinned and practically skipped to their designated area where she surrounded herself and lee with fans and started speaking to them energetically. She took any question that came their way and answered it as honestly and as carefully as possible, since she knew 43ver the Flaw was always representing their company and she’d be scolded if she answered anything incorrectly or caused a scandal. The girls immersed themselves into their fan meeting and talked with their fans like they were best friends, some girls asked for love advice, which made Amaya blush and shyly admit that she’d never even had a boyfriend. Some talked about their dreams and accomplishments, which made lee swell up with pride and act like the #1 Unni around. They laughed, took selfies, signed autographs and occasionally stole looks at VIXX who sat at a fan meeting of their own. Amaya’s eyes glanced towards VIXX and locked into Ravi’s. Her breath caught in her throat, as she tried to keep from blushing. Why was he looking at her like that? His eyes were pulled away from hers and she was able to breath again. Blush rushed to her cheeks and she pulled herself farther into conversing with her fans, she wasn’t going to let that happen again.

 

After what felt like minutes but was probably closer to hours the idols were escorted from the fan meet back to their dressing rooms to change. They pealed off the colorful stage outfits off in favor of something that was a little more “themselves.” Maya sported an oversized black muscle tank with the words “Some women are lost in the fire, others are built in it” in brilliant cursive plastered on the front, some burgundy high-waisted shorts, black converse and a black and white flannel tied around her waist. She braided the front portions of her hair back and tied them in the back to create an effortless half up half down hair do and turned to Lee to see if she was ready to go. Lee sported a sheer button up black shirt with a nude cami underneath, distressed jean shorts, and bright purple converse that matched her hair, which she left down because she couldn’t figure out anything else to do with hair that short. The girls shot each other a grin and started out towards their van.

 

Vixx’s process was pretty much the same, they all changed into jeans and tops of their choosing and came out of their dressing room looking as casual and perfect as ever. They made their way towards the exit to find their van and instead came face to face with 43ver the Flaw waiting for their van to pull around.


	25. Jackets and handshakes

Maya stood next to Lee chattering and bouncing up and down to try and warm herself up. “I didn’t realize it’d be so cold when we finished.” She giggled rubbing her arms. Lee returned the laugh.

“Tell me about it!” Lee shivered, “I always forget how cold Korea can get at night. I should have packed us both a pair of pants,”

 

Leo and Ravi didn’t hesitate to move once they heard, and saw, that the girls were cold. Leo shed his leather jacked and softly placed it on Lee’s shoulders while Rave ripped off his varsity jacket and enveloped Maya with it, his hands lingering just slightly longer than they should on her shoulders. The girls’ attention immediately shifted from laughing with each other to looking over their other shoulders surprised at the boys.

 

“Sorry,” Leo rubbed the back of his head unsure of how to go about talking to the girl he’d been admiring for months without talking to, “I.. I just noticed you seemed cold and…” His voice trailed off. Lee pulled his jacket over her shoulders more and smiled up at him.

 

“Thanks,” Her blue eyes poured into his making his heart skip a beat, “I’m Lee. You’re the main vocalist in VIXX right? Maya and I love your songs.” Blood rose to Leo’s face as Lee talked. She knew who he was.

 

“Yeah... Uh, my name is Taek Woon… or Leo, you can call me which ever is easiest for you.” Lee extended her hand to shake his. He gulped before taking it, preparing himself for the feeling of her hand against his.

 

“Nice to meet you, Leo!” His hand clasped around hers. It was warm and enveloped her hand almost entirely. Lee felt his warmth through the handshake; it didn’t even really feel like a handshake, more like someone holding the hand of someone they loved for the first time. It was strange. His smile grew into a grin.

 

“It’s nice to finally meet you too, Lee.” Leo cherished the feeling of holding Lee’s hand in his, it felt right, even though he knew they weren’t _really_ holding hands. He cursed the moment he had to let it go. He could still feel the softness of her palm when his hand fell to his side.

 

“Finally…?” Lee cocked her head to the side as she asked the word as a question. Her lips curved into a smirk that made Leo’s face flush.

 

Maya looked up at Ravi in immediate surprise. She’d be lying if she didn’t half expect to see Daehyun standing there, with a grin on his face, hand raised and ready to ruffle her hair. It seemed like forever ago since he plopped that big leather jacket on her head and started causing all kinds of trouble. But Daehyun’s mischievous eyes are not the eyes she met when she looked up. She was met with the same eyes she couldn’t look away from during the fan meet. She immediately looked down at the ground trying to ignore their pull once more. She pulled the jacket tighter around her shoulders, took a deep breath and looked up at them just once more. She still couldn’t speak.

 

“It’s a pretty warm jacket right?” Ravi broke the silence. His voice sounded like silk even though he was a nervous wreck on the inside. “A pretty girl like you shouldn’t be shivering out here alone,” he grinned at Maya while she opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out, she was still too busy looking at his eyes. His gaze trailed down her body and stopped at her shirt, he pulled the jacket open ever so slightly, trying to read the words.

 

“It says, some women are lost in the fire, others are built in it.” Maya found her voice again, drawing strength from the quote, she wasn’t going to get lost in some boys eyes, not again. Her lips curled into a smile as Ravi looked up at her, slightly surprised from her clear tone of voice when she had just seemed so smitten a moment before. “It is a really warm jacket,” She smiled, pulling her arms through the sleeves of his jacket. She giggled slightly at the size of it as she tried to roll up the sleeves. Ravi chuckled and the sound of his deep laugh sent shivers up her spine, she tried to shake off the feeling. “You’re the rapper in VIXX right? Ravi?” She looked up at him while he took her arm, carefully folding up the sleeve of the jacket for you.

 

“Yeah, that’s me.” His eyes locked on hers for a brief moment, he had to look back at the jacket to stop himself from blushing; those eyes of hers were no joke. “This jacket can be kind of tricky to style sometimes,” he took her other hand and started folding the other sleeve, “You can call me Won Shik, if you’d like, it’s my real name. Kim Won Shik.” He lingered holding her hand for as long as he could get away with.

 

“I’m Amaya, Amaya Serene, but everyone just calls me Maya.” She tried not to focus on the fact that his hand still held hers. It was so warm and yet it sent goosebumps up and down her arms. She didn’t really understand the feeling and mostly contributed it to the cold air. Ravi grinned at her as he slowly let her hand go.

 

“I know.”

 

“You know?” Maya’s head cocked to the side and her lips parted in a way that made Ravi crazy.

 

 **“Yeah, well, I’ve kind of been watching you for a while.”** Both Ravi and Leo answered the girls at the same time.

 

Leo’s face lit up like Rudolph’s nose. “I mean **your band!** ” He practically yelled trying frantically to fix what he said and how he knew it sounded. “We’ve been watching you guys perform for a while… and I was really excited to meet you because I really enjoy watching your performances.” He smiled and let out a small breath of air, figuring he saved both his and Ravi’s asses. “I’m a big fan.”

 

Lee’s face softened, if he hadn’t added the last part she would have definitely thought he was trying to move on her super fast. “We’re big fans too.”

 

Ravi cleared his throat to bring Maya’s attention back to him. “What he said wasn’t what I meant.” Maya’s eyes widened, “I mean, I am a big fan. But I’ve been watching you specifically.” He watched as Lee moved closer to Maya like she was going to pull her away. He could see that the truth would freak them out. He couldn’t confess to her just yet. He flashed a grin and let out a slow chuckle as he reached his arm behind his neck and scratched his head. “I guess you could say my bias,”

 

Maya’s face went from confusion with a hint of fear to pure amusement. Her lips curled back into a smile and she let out a roaring laugh. Her hands flew up to wipe some tears from her eyes, and she grinned up at him. “You’re my bias too.” Her laughter started to die down. “My favorite is always the rapper, except in one group.” Her grin turned into a small smile as her thoughts drifted to Daehyun. The girl’s van pulled up and Lee pulled her out of her thoughts and into the van.

 

“It was great to meet you guys!” Lee smiled and waved and she led Maya into the van and stepped in after her. “We’ll give you guys the jackets back next time.”


	26. Homecoming

The door of the van closed behind Lee’s words and she turned to look out the window, watching the boys recede in the distance. Her eyes narrowed as she thought of their interactions. She was skeptical to say the least. It wasn’t that she thought badly of them; it was that their actions seemed strange. To have idols that they have watched from another company come up and openly say that they love watching 43ver the flaw and that they love them and what they do was strange. Having a fan say that was one thing but having another idol say it was a whole other monster. Lee’s thoughts stayed buried in the subject for a while until she was prodded out of it by Maya’s elbow nudging her in the ribs several times. Maya could see Lee was in deep thought and she was _desperate_ to know what about.

 

“What ‘cha thinking about?” Maya looked at Lee with firm curiosity and determination. Lee glanced her way and through her a soft smile.

 

“Nothing big.”

 

Maya’s face contorted into a half pout half frown. “Bull.”

 

Lee shrugged in response and Maya shot her a “I-know-for-a-fact-you’re-thinking-of-something” look before drawing out a long winey “Leeeeee” and nudged her again for added effect. Lee let out a sigh.

 

“Fine, I was just thinking about Ravi and Leo and how they acted…” Lee said it quietly. Maya rolled her eyes and flopped back in her seat.

 

“Lee, they acted just _fine!_ They were nervous because they are fans and that’s probably why you think they acted sketch or something.”

 

Lee let out another small sigh and nodded in response as if to say, “You’re probably right,” even though she didn’t think so. But, she figured it would be better to just let it all blow over.

 

As soon as they arrived home they cleaned up threw on pajamas and plopped themselves on the couch to watch some game of thrones. Maya was at the edge of her seat, enthralled by Daenerys Targaryen and her actions, when Lee’s attention diverted from the show to the ding of her phone. She slid it open to reveal a message from Jonghyun. "Hey beautiful we will be flying back to Korea if you wanna meet us at the airport around 12pm ^.^ to pick us up?" Lee smiled at the message before looking over at the entranced Maya."Maya." She called out.

 

"What?" Maya responded not taking her eyes off of the magic that was game of thrones.

 

"Your boy toy is coming home." Lee teased at her with a grin. That got Maya to look her way.

"What boy toy? What do you mean?" Maya looked both confused, horrified, and hopeful.

 

Lee grinned before letting out a chuckle, "Minho and the rest are coming home tomorrow. Jonghyun asked us to pick them up around 12 at the airport. You game?"

 

Maya grinned and nodded, “Oh, I’m game!”

 

Lee nodded before her attention returned to her phone as she texted Jonghyun that they was going to be there. "Great ill see you guys there." He texted back with a smiley face. Lee looked over at the time. It was already 4am. "Well if we are going to do that then we need to sleep." She said. She got up and manually turned off the tv.

 

Maya’s face twisted in horror as she threw the remote at Lee, “i was gonna finish watching that!” She half pouted half yelled at Lee.

 

“No.” Lee’s hands moved to her hips, “What was gonna happen was you were going to keep watching them one after the other after the other until you fell asleep on the couch or the sun came up. It happens every time. Now go to bed.” She pointed towards her room and Maya got up with a sigh.

 

“Fiiine.” She pouted, but as soon as her head hit the pillow she was fast asleep, so was Lee.

 

Lee stood in front of the mirror inspecting her appearance as the sunlight poured in through her window. She wore a plain black blouse and bright red skinny jeans that, as she turned in the mirror, she noticed fit her in all the right places. She had picked out a pair of black combat boots that had a high insole so she could be just a bit taller. Her bright purple hair fell in natural wavy ringlets and framed her blue eyes. She smiled in approval taking in her reflection and grabbed her red sunglasses before exiting to the living room to wait for Maya. Surprisingly, it didn’t take her long. She emerged fully dressed wearing distressed black skinny jeans, a black tank top, electric blue doc Martins and a black, cropped leather jacket with blue accents that pulled in her boots. She pulled her bright blue hater blockers on and shot Lee a grin. “You ready?” Lee scoffed and nodded in response before following Maya out the door. They were trying to go low profile so Maya would be driving, which meant it’d be an interesting ride.

 

And an interesting ride it was. Lee made the mistake of telling Maya she thought they were being followed, which made her so all fast and furious on her and cause her to nearly have a heart attack. Lee knew there would be cameras at the airport regardless of whether or not they were followed. While Maya _probably_ knew that too, she got way too much enjoyment out of driving fast and crazy. Once Lee got used to it, it was alright though, while it was fast as hell and she weaved through traffic way too much for Lee’s taste, she was a surprisingly good and somehow safe driver. She did manage to get all of her licenses on the first try, both her motorcycle and drivers in both Korea and the states. She had skill, Lee could give her that. But she was still crazy.

 

They arrived at the airport with minutes to spare and were able to leisurely walk around to the gate Jonghyun informed the girls they would be arriving through. Lee took a seat in the nearest chair and Maya bounced up and down eagerly staring at the gate. Lee chuckled to herself taking in the excited and anxious way she looked at the doors. If she didn’t know any better, she would think Maya was waiting for her boyfriend to come back from war or something. But Lee did know better, Amaya kept her friends close in her heart whenever they were away and she was excited to see all of SHINee and probably nervous to see Minho, especially after their drama aired and she had to talk about, and see, her first kiss over and over again.

 

They heard SHINee coming before they saw them. The sound of luggage being rolled and of boots hitting the floor, Lee stood up at the sounds and joined Maya, who was standing significantly closer to the exit of the gate. The glass doors slid open and there they were. Maya’s face lit up as she grinned. Minho’s eyes caught hers in a second and he looked as though he would break into a run and hug her, as Jonghyun’s eyes met with Lee’s he looked the same. They were both beaten to the punch. Key dropped his luggage from behind them and ran straight through the boys and enveloped both girls in a bear hug. He pulled away slightly still holding a shoulder of each girl. “Oh look at you girl you make me so proud wearing the clothes I brought for you!!” He squealed excitedly at Lee, “ahh and your hair! With the black!” he gushed at Maya before pulling both girls in for another bear hug. The girls laughed and hugged him back mumbling I missed you’s and it’s good to see you’s until Key was wrenched off of them by the combined force of Jonghyun and Minho. They practically threw Key behind them and stepped up to talk to the girls.

 

“Hey, it’s good to see you,” Lee smiled up at Jonghyun as he looked her up and down. He sent her a grin and a wink.

 

“I knew you missed me.” His lips curled into a smirk as Lee rolled her eyes and shook her head. “hey, you came to pick me up!” he grinned, “you can’t deny it!”

 

Minho looked at Maya, breathless. She looked even better than when he left, and he didn’t really think that was possible. Maya blushed as she looked up at him, the kiss not far from her mind. She opened her arms shyly, offering him a hug; she did miss him after all. Minho’s eyes widened for a split second at the offer and then his whole face lit up in a grin. His arms slid around her waist and he lifted her in the air, pulling her close and spinning her around in a big bear hug. Maya let out a small squeak as he lifted her and giggled when he spun her around. He let her down gently, causing her to slide against him. “Miss me?” he grinned, releasing his grip and tucking her hair behind her ear.

 

Maya met his eyes, blushed and looked at the ground. “Yes.”

 

Minho chuckled at her cute embarrassment and patted her head. Her face contorted into a pout as she swatted his hand away and looked up at him in mock anger. “What are you laughing at?” she fumed as she fixed her hair. Minho contained his laughter.

 

“Nothing, nothing, nothing at all.” He grinned. She was still as oblivious as ever, never knowing when someone was hitting on her, or falling for her.

 

In the distance B.A.P was exiting from a different gate, coming home from Japan. They could see the girls reuniting with SHINee fairly clearly, Daehyun stared aghast. “See that, hyung?” He flagged down Bang who followed his gaze and watched Jonghyun flirt with Lee. “That could have been us!” Daehyun threw his hands up dramatically and then narrowed his eyes at Bang who rolled his eyes and continued towards their exit. “It could have been us, but noooooooo! _Don’t message them, Daehyun. They’re busy, Daehyun. We can just surprise them, Daehyun._ **Nope!** ” Daehyun wined, being as dramatic as possible, “instead of us, it’s SHINee over there! Getting all flirty!” He shot more pointed looks at Bang. “Damn you, hyung.”

 

Bang hit him over the head. “Calm down. It’s gonna be fine. Nothing serious is going on over there with them.” _I hope_ he added silently. He turned and shot Daehyun a pointed look, “and don’t cuss at me kid.”

 

Over by the girls, cameras snapped quietly from the shadows as the girls talked with SHINee. One reporter flipped through the pictures he had taken of the idols interactions. “This is gonna be big news.”


	27. Chicken and Scandals

The girls led the boys to the van and Maya popped the trunk so they could load up their luggage. Minho’s eyes widened when he noticed that Maya had the keys. “She’s driving?” He pointed at Maya. Lee nodded and Maya grinned. “But, she drives like she’s in a race.” Maya’s grin grew, “She’s an absolute maniac behind the wheel.” Maya slapped his arm.

 

“Ya. I am a very good driver. I just happen to drive fast when needed. I’ll go the speed limit this time, so don’t worry your pretty little head.” She got on her tip-toes and ruffled his hair. “Now get in” she motioned to the car, “All of you.”

 

“ **Shotgun!** ” Lee yelled jumping in the front with a giggle. Maya laughed as she walked around to the driver’s side and the boys piled into the van.

 

“Seriously,” Maya looked in the rearview mirror at the boys in the back, “I’ll go slow.” Lee scoffed.

 

“What’s slow for you, Maya? 60mph?”

 

“On the highway?” Lee nodded in response, “Oh no, 80 is the _slowest_ I can go on the highway.”

 

Lee laughed. “Everyone, better buckle up.” Maya nodded and put the car in gear.

 

When they finally screeched to a stop in a parking spot Maya was grinning and Lee was laughing at the boys. Onew was crashed out in the back seat, completely unaware of Maya’s insane driving, Key sat with his legs crossed reading a book, completely unfazed, Jonghyun was too busy flirting with Lee the whole time to care, Minho sat in shock, his knuckles turning white from gripping his seat, and Taemin was impressed and giddy. “You know, Maya, I think you missed your calling!” He yelled enthusiastically from the back. She turned to look at him after turning off the car.

 

“What do you mean?” Her eyebrow raised and she tilted her head in slight confusion.

 

“You should have been a race car driver! Or a stunt driver!” Her grinned, “not an idol.” Maya grinned and then broke into laughter as Minho responded.

 

“I, for one, am glad she does _not_ drive for a living. It’s terrifying.”

 

Maya broke her laughter to wipe a tear and look at Minho, “If I drove for a living no one else would be in the car with me.” Lee busted into a fit laughter at the shade Maya just threw and hopped out of the car, causing the rest of the gang to follow. They all filed into the apartment building and the boys parted with the girls to put away their stuff. The girls plopped onto the couch and flipped on the tv to the entertainment news, it was their favorite channel to play in the background because it was more than _a little_ fun to hear what people were saying about them and the idols they worked with. They grabbed all their takeout menu’s and spread them out of the living room table in contemplation.

 

“We should probably order a lot right?” Lee looked at Maya as she held up a menu for chicken.

“Why would we-“ Amaya’s question was interrupted by a knock on the door. Lee smiled.

 

“Cause the boys will be coming.” She laughed as she ushered in SHINee. Onew plucked the menu out of Lee’s hands at the door.

 

“I’ll order. When it comes to chicken and beer there’s no one you can trust more.” He flashed the girls a grin, who shrugged in agreement. The food came pretty quickly and everyone sat around the living room table and talked while they watched the idol gossip channel laughing at all the upcoming scandals.

 

“Coming up after the break, Choi Minho’s secret girl revealed!”

 

“Oppa!” Maya yelled elbowing Minho, who was sitting beside her, in the ribs, “You got yourself a girlfriend and didn’t tell me!”

 

Minho practically choked on the gulp of beer he just tried to swallow at the sound of Maya calling him oppa without any prodding. “O-oppa….” Minho repeated quietly to himself while blushing. Lee rolled her eyes.

 

“Oh yeah, Maya!” she nudged her, “Remember all those headlines about how he was always on the phone, texting, and face timing, and calling someone?” Maya nodded attentively, “He _must_ have been talking to this _mystery girl._ ” Lee tried to make her voice sound as sarcastic as possible, hinting that the “mystery girl” was Maya.

 

“I wonder who it is….” Maya’s head tilted as she turned up the volume on the TV wanting to know the rest of the story. Lee face palmed.

 

Pictures of Maya and Minho at the airport flooded the TV screen; pictures of Minho ruffling Maya’s hair, pictures of Minho’s face lighting up at the sight of Maya waiting for him, pictures of Minho spinning Maya in the hair, pictures of Maya smiling up at Minho, her arms around him. The remote dropped from Maya’s hand as the anchor continued the story.

 

“Today around 12pm Amaya Serene of 43ver the Flaw was seen picking up SHINee from the airport. An overjoyed Choi Minho couldn’t hold back his excitement at seeing his girlfriend for the first time since departing on tour and the two shared a warm lovers reunion. At this time it is unclear how long the two have been dating but it’s safe to assume the mystery girl he had kept in constant contact with throughout their world tour was none other than Amaya. The two are label mates at SM entertainment….”

 

Lee picked up the remote off the floor and muted the tv. “Maya, you really didn’t know that-“ She was cut off from a blaring siren coming from the table. It was their manager’s ringtone. Maya picked up her phone off the table and put it to her ear silently.

Lee’s eyes were fixated on Maya and brimming with concern. She could hear their manager on the other line. Her voice was like daggers, she wasn’t the least bit happy and she was cutting though the girls with precision.

 

“Do you see this?”

 

Maya nodded, “Neh, manager.” Her voice was timid and weak.

 

“What have I told you about your outings with SHINee?”

 

“To... to be careful.”

 

“Yes, to be careful. Does this look like careful to you?”

 

“But we were careful. I drove the speed limit and we were very aware of our surroundings and who was there we didn’t—“

 

“Who the hell let you drive?” there was silence in the room, “I know you don’t _ever_ go under the speed limit. In fact, you’re always going _way_ over it.”

 

Maya managed a weak smile and tried to lighten up the mood, “Oh, manager, you know me so well.” Lee snatched the phone out of her hands before she could do anymore damage.

 

“Hello manag—“

 

“Lee, hand the phone back to Amaya right this instant. I am not done talking with her.”

 

“Yes, ma’am.” Lee sighed as she reluctantly handed Maya back the phone. She gave her an apologetic look, Maya flashed her a smile and mouthed ‘it’s okay.’ Lee sat sadly watching as Maya and Minho were both chewed out over the phone by their managers for a minute before sighing and walking to the kitchen to grab herself a drink of water. As she poured herself a glass of water Jonghyun walked into the kitchen behind her.

 

“This isn’t good…” he leaned against the fridge. Lee nodded as she hoisted herself up onto the counter.

 

“Yeah, I know.” She took a sip of her water and looked down as her legs dangled over the floor, “I wonder how everything is going to be handled.”

 

Jonghyun took in her expression carefully. He could see her worry and a hint of sadness. He knew now wasn’t the time to joke around or flirt. Lee wanted to be there for Maya and Jonghyun wanted to be there for Lee. The best way to do that, he decided, was by being there for all of them, Lee, Maya, and Minho, through this whole mess. “Don’t worry too much, I’m sure it will all get sorted out.” He smiled at Lee and tilted her head up, “I’ll make the boys help me clean up and we’ll all leave so you and Maya can rest.” Lee nodded and smiled softly as she drank her water. When she finally exited the kitchen the living room was all cleaned up and Maya was nowhere in sight. Lee sighed as she turned the TV back on and pulled up the top trends on her phone. Maya and Minho were everywhere. She gulped. Minho’s fans were no joke and, honestly, she was scared shitless for Maya. She didn’t know how much worse this whole situation could get. The whole thing was new to them and it seemed like a _very_ credible scandal. She had no idea how they were going to get out of it. Her eyes drifted towards Maya’s door and she found her feet moving toward it. She opened the door quietly while whispering Maya’s name, and smiled softly when she saw Maya crashed out on her bed. “Sure, she’s had a hard day.” She closed the door quietly behind her and turned off the TV before going to bed herself. She could tell tomorrow would be a long day.


	28. Press conferencces and phone calls

The next day was indeed long. It started with Choi Minho’s press conference to address the scandal. He had been given specific instructions from his manager on what to say and what to do so that he could avoid as much damage to his “image” and the company as possible. He sat in a chair texting Maya and his band mates trying to see if all was well when he was flagged down by his manager to come make his statement. Minho walked onto the stage head held high, trying to hide his nervousness. He gulped as he reached the podium and flashed the reporters a smile as cameras flashed around him. Reporters asked questions at the same time before being told to be quiet and wait to be called on. Minho pointed at a random reporter. “Mr. Choi Minho, are you and Amaya now officially dating?” The room was silent except for the shutter of cameras as they awaited his response. Minho flashed them a smile and put up his hands as he had rehearsed.

 

“No, no not at all. Those articles were a complete misunderstanding. I got overexcited to see my friend and label mate and, because Americans are more open to affection we hugged, that’s all. Honestly, Maya is nothing more than a dongsang to me. We are friends and label mates. I look after her like I do all my other label mates and I try to help guide her through the industry because 43ver the flaw is so new. Because we spend time together we have grown close, but it’s a sunbae-dongsang relationship. Nothing romantic at all.” Minho smiled as he put his acting skills to work. He said everything the exact opposite way that he felt, Maya was more important to him than anything, and he wanted to be so much more than label mates. Reporters sent other questions flying his way as he answered them all with ease and care, making sure he said exactly what the label would want him to.

 

Amaya watched the interview as it broadcasted live. Her heart began to break into pieces as she mulled over what he said. She felt tears well up in her eyes. She closed them, took a deep breath and looked at the screen again, the tears gone. It was stupid of her to think that someone like Choi Minho would have feelings for her. Her first kiss was nothing but an act, and Minho was nothing more than a concerned sunbae like he said. She stared at the screen, her face like stone. Her arm raised the remote and turned the TV off with a quick click. Lee’s face went from the tv to Maya’s face. She gulped. Lee knew what that face meant. It was the face she made whenever she shut down, it was how she looked when she replaced heartbreak and shock with determination. It was not a face Lee liked to see because she knew it meant shit was going down. “Maya,” Lee’s voice was soft as she touched Maya’s arm, “are you okay?”

 

Maya smiled. “Yes.” Lee knew that tone and knew that smile, “I’m perfectly fine.”

 

She was not perfectly fine. She opened her mouth to protest her comment but Maya was called up onto stage. It was her turn to address the scandal; they were on a morning talk show. A _live_ morning talk show. Lee gulped. She had no idea how Maya was really taking the situation. She just knew however she was taking it, it was hard.

 

The interview started with pleasantries and questions about their recent comeback album and then the dreaded question was asked. Lee gulped. Amaya smiled at the host and chuckled, “Well, I’m here to relieve all of my fan’s and Minho sunbae’s fans. We are not dating. Not even close. Minho sunbae is just that, my sunbae. He takes care of me as his label mate and as his band mates’ friend and teaches me from time to time in the studio.” Amaya’s words were harsh for someone she had just called oppa and hugged so warmly the day before. Backstage Lee rolled her eyes.

 

“Here we go…” she mumbled to herself.

 

“Ah, I see, so he’s your sunbae.” The host prodded Maya nodded, “But I noticed that you call some of your other label mates oppa, why is it Minho is sunbae?”

 

“Ah,” Maya smiled, “Well, my other label mates and I are much closer. Our relationship is like the ones I had with my friends in America so I feel much more comfortable calling them that. Minho sunbae and my relationship is much more professional and focused on music and drama. I don’t think I’ll ever be comfortable enough to call him oppa. It just doesn’t taste right in my mouth. He’s just sunbae.”

 

“Oh, shit.” Lee’s head fell in her hands as she listened to Maya’s words. “That one is gonna hurt.”

 

Minho’s eyes were glued to the TV as his heart sank in his chest. With each word he felt as if he was being stabbed. “He’s just sunbae.” The words echoed in his head. “it just doesn’t taste right in my mouth.” The words cut through him. “but… last night….”

 

Jonghyun placed a heavy hand on Minho’s shoulder, “That was before you publicly announced that she was ‘just your label mate.’”

 

“You should have told her when you had the chance.” Key’s voice sounded from the door way as he walked by.

“Or at least told her what you were going to say.” Onew followed. Taemin shrugged as they all walked off to their room. Minho sat in shock as his head fell into his hands he felt like he’d just lost his entire world.

 

Days went by quickly. Lee worked day and night in the studio for her solo dance and helped Hye mi in setting up schedules for the group. News spread like wildfire of how Minho and Maya were _not_ dating and the whole thing seemed to be getting worse. While that didn’t bother Lee too much because she knew it would blow over soon the way Maya was acting _did_ bother her. She didn’t eat much and if she was scheduled for something she’d do it, pretend to be okay, and then she’d go back to holing herself up in her room, lying in her bed doing nothing. And Lee had just about had enough of it, she didn’t like seeing Maya like this, and honestly, it was starting to affect work. Lee fished her phone out of her pocket and dialed Minho as soon as her schedule for the day was over. The phone rang twice before he answered.

 

“Hello?”

 

“It’s Lee.” Minho looked at his phone in shock before answering again.

 

“Ah... yes. Hi, Lee. Is everything alright?”

 

“No.” Lee’s voice was curt and plain. Minho’s heart skipped a beat. “How the hell were you planning on handling this whole thing with Maya?” She didn’t give him time to answer. “You know you really screwed yourself over, right? You just publicly rejected her. If you liked her, like you say you do, you wouldn’t just beat around the bush. You’d man up and tell her. But instead you fucked up.”

 

“I know… I really messed up.” Minho’s voice was quiet.

 

“Oh? You know? Then you better fix it, kid. ‘Cause Maya is feeling hurt and I know how she acts when she’s hurt. She lets it hurt for a while and then you know what she does, Minho? She gets over it. So if you don’t want her to get over you, here’s a hint: fix your screw up.”

 

“Okay, I’ll figure something out.”

 

“Yeah. Okay. Later.” Lee hung up slightly annoyed but feeling slightly better. She rubbed her eyes and sighed. “I hope this ends well. I don’t want to deal with any more crappy drama.”


	29. Surprise visits and Pancakes

Maya sat on her bed, holding the gifts Minho had given her on her last birthday. The charm still hung on her phone, and the picture of Minho had a red kiss mark in the corner. Her hands opened the box to the jewelry set and she ran her thumb over the locket. She sighed and snapped the box shut. She made her way to her closet and pulled down an old shoebox. The frame was the first to go in. Next she pulled off the phone charm and dropped it in, then the jewelry set. She looked around her room again and pulled down her SHINee poster and the poster from the drama she and Minho stared in. Carefully, she folded the posters and placed them in the box before closing it and putting it on the highest shelf in her closet. She let out another sigh before she sat on her bed again, at least now there wasn’t really anything to remind her of him. She made her way to the bathroom and splashed some water on her face. Her eyes were red and puffy. “No more crying, Maya.” She looked at herself sternly in the mirror, “It’s no use waiting for someone to come around. You don’t need him. It’s okay. Sometimes we misunderstand. He didn’t mean to hurt you like that. And he won’t hurt you again, because you wont let him.” She smiled, “You’re stronger than that, Maya.” She repeated those words silently to herself as she started the shower. You’re stronger than this. You’re more than this. You’re not just some heartbroken girl. She told herself this over and over again until she believed it as she went through all the steps of getting ready for the day. She glanced at the clock. It was 6 am. When did she wake up? How long did she sleep for before she put her feelings away in that shoebox? She shook it off. Today was a new day. And today she was getting over it. She took a good long look at herself in her mirror, her hair was clean and styled in the first time in days, and her winged eyeliner looked like it could kill a man. She wore a loose off the shoulder blouse in black that was splattered with bits of electric blue paint. She complimented its loose fit with high waisted figure hugging distressed denim skinny jeans. She smiled as she tucked the front of her shirt in, drawing attention to her small waist. She fetched her favorite pair of black combat boots and placed them by the door.

 

She looked at the time again. 6:10. Hye mi would be dropping of their schedule soon, and Lee would wake up around 7. Maya smiled softly to herself. “I’ll make us some pancakes!” She decided out loud. Maya was determined to make today a good day, she wanted to prove to herself that her life would not revolve around being rejected by some boy. She smiled to herself again as she pulled on her apron and started fishing around the kitchen for all the ingredients she’d need. Before she knew it 6:30 rolled past and Hye mi still hadn’t dropped off the schedule, which was strange, but Maya shrugged it off. Then, even stranger, Lee woke up before 7!

 

Lee’s eyes fluttered open at the sound of pots and pans and the smell of blueberry pancakes and bacon filled the air. Groggily, lee stumbled into her bathroom and washed her face, she ran a brush through her hair and stumbled into the kitchen to find the source of the sound and delicious smell. Her jaw dropped at the sight of Maya singing as she flipped pancakes in the air. She pulled a complete 180 overnight. Yesterday she wouldn’t even get out of bed to eat; now she was singing and making pancakes.

 

Maya’s eyes met Lee’s and she smiled. “Mornin’ sunshine!” she glanced at the clock 6:45. “You know you’re up a whole 15 minutes before you usually are.”

 

“yeah….” Lee skeptically looked Maya up and down, “Are you okay? Have you been replaced with an alien or something? Yesterday—“

 

“I decided to get over it.” Maya interrupted. “I mean, why should I let some boy decide how I feel? I don’t need him in my life, and I obviously misunderstood what he felt for me so, why keep torturing myself?” Maya smiled at lee, “I know I’m stronger than that, and I have better things to do with my time. Like make my best friend pancakes in the morning.”

 

Lee couldn’t contain herself and launched herself right at Maya, hugging her as tight as she could. Her Maya was coming back, and if Minho lost his chance, his loss. All that mattered was that Maya was going to be okay.

 

“Yah!” Maya laughed, “I can’t properly flip these pancakes with you latching on to me like that!”

 

Lee laughed as she let go of her friend. “Oh no, we wouldn’t want that. I need those pancakes to be _perfect_ , maknae.”

 

“Yes, ma’am!” Maya laughed, flipping a pancake in the air. Lee walked past her to get to the plates and started setting the table for the two of them. The girls ate and talked and fought over who was going to do dishes. Lee insisted on doing them because Maya cooked and Maya insisted on doing them cause she made the mess. They ended up doing them together. As time past they got increasingly worried about their managers. “They normally drop off the schedule at 6:30, 7 if they are really running late.” Maya looked at the time on her phone. “It’s nearly 11.”

 

“Maybe we just don’t have a schedule today...?” Lee suggested, feeling hopeful. Maya scoffed.

 

“When I pretty much refused to leave my room yesterday? I doubt it. Hye mi would rather keep me busy then let me sulk. You know how she is.” Lee nodded in agreement. Hye mi was the type to drag your ass around by your hair if she needed to. She _always_ made the girls work their butts off and when they got a much-deserved break and schedule she always made sure to tell them.

 

“Maybe we should call them?” Lee suggested picking up her phone. She slid it open to dial Hye Mi when it blared its siren. “oh, its her.” She showed Maya the phone before answering. “Oh manager! We were just about to call—“

 

“Where are you two?”

 

“eh…?” Lee was confused. Hye Mi’s voice sounded panic and annoyed, “we’re at home; we didn’t get a schedule today so—“

 

“What?” Lee had to move the phone away from her ear Hye Mi’s yelling was so loud, “You didn’t get a schedule? Oh I swear to god! I left it with the new hire. They were supposed to bring it to you at 6:30 sharp and you haven’t even got it yet? Oh this is an absolute disaster. You two are late.”

“Late…? Late for what?”

 

“You’re shooting GOT7’s music video today. JYP wanted a foreign girl to star and they decided that you two would be even better. There’s talk of JYP and SM doing a lot of collabs in the future and it almost entirely depends on the reaction of you girls in this video. No pressure.”

 

“but.. we… I don’t under—“

 

“I am going to text you the address. Take the car, not the van. Have Maya drive. I need you here in 10 minutes.” Click.

 

“What’s that all about?” Maya looked at Lee who looked like she’d seen a ghost.

 

“Maya, grab the keys to the car.” She pulled up the address Hye Mi had just sent her. It was on the other side of Seoul.

 

“The car? But Hye mi never lets us drive the car. Is a driver coming?”

 

“No. You’re driving. We need to be on the other side of Seoul in ten minutes.” Lee was already putting on her shoes; glad she had gotten dressed right after they finished cleaning the kitchen. She grabbed the keys and tossed them to Maya. “I need you to drive fast.”

 

Maya caught the keys and started putting on her shoes. “Lee I always drive fast.”

 

“No Maya. Fast for you.”

 

“Fast for me? But.” Her face completely changed. “Lee. Let me see that address.” She took the phone from Lee’s hands. Her eyes widened and grabbed her jacket and ran out the door. “We have to take the stairs.” Lee ran behind her. “The elevator would be too slow.”

 

The car screeched into park right in front of an anxious Hye Mi. She smiled out of relief and said something along the lines of “I never thought I’d be so glad that Maya drives like a lunatic” before ushering them to make up and wardrobe. The girls changed at record speed and Hye Mi gave them the shortest run down of what to do in the music video. There was no time for introductions. As soon as they were dressed they were ushered on set and they were filming.

 

_It’s not working. So stop fronting. I know you want me. Lets start talking. Aaaaaaa~_

Honestly, they didn’t really have to act much. The boys were told to be super surprised at how pretty they were when they first saw them; no acting needed. The girls were told to be surprised at the boys acting a fool; no acting needed. Acting cool and ignoring the cute boys “advancing” on them: a little acting needed.

The director yelled cut and everyone broke for lunch. They’d been filming for at least a solid hour; the bands still hadn’t been introduced to each other. Maya grabbed a water bottle from an assistant and took a big gulp when her eyes met someone who was entering the set. He smiled and held up his hand in greeting. Maya dropped her water bottle. His blonde hair had been dyed a jet black but there was no mistaking that walk or that smirk. Jung Daehyun was walking towards her. Daehyun was back. “Oppa!” Maya shrieked, grinning and running towards him. He caught her with a deep chuckle and spun her around for good measure. “When did you get back? Why didn’t you call when you arrived? How did you know I’d be here?” She smiled talking rapidly at him before hugging him again. “I missed you!” she grinned up at him, finally letting him go. He smiled back down at her.

 

“I can see you missed me, Babe.” He smirked with his last word.

 

“Babe, huh?” Jackson of GOT7 stood behind the two, drinking water. “I thought you were dating that Choi Minho guy.”

 

“What!?” Maya spun around looking the idol directly in the face and waving her arms, “No, no, no, no. Minho and I are not dating.”

 

“Well, I figured. Since Daehyun of BAP is calling you babe. Guess he’s your real boyfriend.”

 

Color rushed to Amaya’s cheeks and she waved her arms in the same no motion. “No no, no, no. I’m not. Me and Daehyun aren’t. He just.” She got increasingly flustered by the second, “I’m not dating anyone!”

 

“Oh don’t let her fool you!” Lee came up behind Jackson, grinning. “The truth is she’s dating _both_ of them! She’s a real player I tell you, a real player! I’m sure she has room for another boyfriend if you want to put in an application.”

 

“Unni!” Maya exclaimed her face growing redder. Daehyun grinned at her cute expression and faked surprise.

 

“Omo. You mean you’re cheating on me, babe?”

 

“Oppa!” Maya slapped his arm.

 

“Wow, so cute when you call him Oppa!” Jackson laughed, joining in on the teasing, “Where’s this application at, Lee? I’d _love_ to fill one out.”

 

“You know I’d at least need to know your name for you to tease me!” Maya exclaimed, exasperated.

 

“It’s Jackson.” He grinned holding out his hand, “That’s the whole reason I actually came over here. To introduce myself and the guys.”


	30. Auditions and surprise photoshoots

Once Jackson introduced himself the rest of GOT7 followed suit. Some of them were a little shy, Bam Bam and Yugyeom, others were overly goofy, Mark and Jackson, and the rest were pretty chill, but they were all rather talkative. They got along with both of the girls quickly and Maya chatted up GOT7 and Daehyun a storm until they were told they had to get back to work. Hye Mi beeped the girls over their schedules and Lee noticed that she had a musical audition to go to and training for her solo dance that she’d be debuting at the upcoming awards show. To say Lee was nervous about both would be an understatement. Maya’s schedule was surprisingly empty, with just the music video shoot and some studio time for her upcoming solo song.

 

Maya was soon instructed to sit back and relax while Lee finished filming her scenes. She didn’t complain; it gave her a little bit of time to catch up with Daehyun before he had to go. “So, gone is the blonde, huh?” Maya smiled at Daehyun fixing a stray hair.

 

“Yeah. Why, you don’t like it?” He raised an eyebrow at her, “You prefer blondes?”

 

Maya giggled, “No. I like it. But blonde looked really good on you.” A faint blush tinted her cheeks. Daehyun tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.

 

“Well, we all can’t look perfect in everything like you do, Babe.” He smiled at her. She opened her mouth to protest the pet name when his phone ringing cut her off. He smiled apologetically and answered the call; it was his manger. He frowned slightly and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. “I have to go, babe. See you later.” He waved, gave her a grin, and sauntered out of the set to go meet his manager.

 

“When did I tell you, you could call me babe?” Maya spoke to thin air. She touched her cheek where he kissed her. “When did I tell you, you could kiss me…we aren’t dating.”

 

“Talking to nothing again?” Lee grinned at Maya. At least she seemed to be doing better. “You know that’s a terrible habit.” Maya grinned at lee.

 

“I know! I should really stop that.” She giggled.

 

“It’s your turn to shoot, I’ve got to run. I have a musical to audition for apparently.”

 

Maya smiled, “Break a leg!” She waved at Lee before running on set to film her portion.

 

Lee made her way to the van with Hye Mi and silently got into her seat. Hye mi chatted happily at her while she drove. Telling her that she shouldn’t be nervous, that her doing well would be great for the company, that SM has such wonderfully talented and well-rounded artists and that Lee was definitely one of them so really she shouldn’t worry. Hye Mi pulled into a parking spot and ushered Lee into the building safely before patting her back and giving her a mini “Fighting!” cheer before running off to do some quick work while Lee auditioned.

 

Lee made her way to the room when her name was called and she was handed a script and told to read a scene. She took a deep breath. She was really going into this blind. Hye Mi hadn’t told her what the audition was for, and the script was entirely in Korean. While she could translate it pretty quickly in her mind, thanks to her extensive Korean lessons, she was nervous she’d mess up the pronunciation and had to concentrate not only on reading and speaking from the script, in Korean, but on acting. Once the speaking part was over she was handed some sheet music. She sighed with relief once she saw that the song was in English. Her eyes widened and she smiled when she looked at the song title. “Journey to the Past.” She was auditioning for Anastasia. She handed the sheet back to the panel auditioning her with a smile and politely told them she didn’t need the sheet music.

 

“ _Heart, don’t fail me now. Courage, don’t desert me. Don’t turn back now that we’re here… People always say life is full of choices, no one ever mentions… Fear. Or how the world can seem so vast, on a journey to the past….”_ Lee started singing as soon as she took her place in the center of the room. Her voice rang out clear and smooth, navigating the notes with ease and causing the pianist to jump in late. “ _Somewhere down this road I know someone's waiting. Years of dreams just can't be wrong! Arms will open wide. I'll be safe and wanted. Finally home where I belong. Well, starting now, I'm learning fast on this journey to the past! Home, Love, Family. There was once a time I must have had them, too. Home, Love, Family, I will never be complete until I find you...”_ Lee let her emotions lead as she moved around the room, letting herself completely go, she pretended to be her favorite character from her favorite movie. “ _One step at a time. One hope, then another. Who knows where this road may go. Back to who I was, on to find my future. Things my heart still needs to know. Yes, let this be a sign! Let this road be mine! Let it lead me to my past and bring me home... At last!_ ” Lee held the last note, arms open wide, and didn’t let it go until the piano stopped and she came out of her trance.

 

A blush crept onto Lee’s face and she bowed, said a polite thank you and left. Leaving the panel to collect their thoughts. Hye Mi greeted her with a hug. “How’d it go?” she grinned at her. Lee shrugged. She knew she knew the song well, but she wasn’t really sure how well she preformed it, or the scene. The ride back to the apartment was quiet until they got to the front door. Hye mi looked at her phone and shrieked. Lee jumped. “What’s wrong?” She practically screamed.

 

“That god damn new hire! I have to go get Amaya _right_ now. She has a photo shoot in 10 minutes that they didn’t put in the schedule!”

 

Lee chuckled quietly and hopped out of the van. “I’ll see myself in, and I’ll practice my dance right after. I promise!” She pulled the van door shut as Hye mi yelled thanks and sped off. Lee chuckled and made her way into the apartment to change and practice her dance, as promised.

Amaya was literally midsentence talking to Mark about L.A. after the music video shoot ended when her manager stormed on set and grabbed her wrist. “We have to go. _Now._ ”

 

“Woah, Hye Mi, What’s wrong? My schedule didn’t say I had anything else and I was just talking to mark abou—“

 

“You’re schedule was wrong.” Hye Mi hissed, her words dripped like venom and the grip on her wrist tightened. “That god damn new hire fucked up again.”

 

Amaya’s jaw dropped. Hye Mi didn’t cuss. Ever.

 

“You are scheduled to arrive at a photo shoot in literally five minutes.” Her eyes locked on to hers, “We are not rushing the hair and makeup on this one. You will drive. And you will drive like there is no one in the seat next to you.” Amaya gulped. “Do you understand?”

 

“Yes, Ma’am.”

 

“Good. _Now._ ” She didn’t even finish her sentence. Hye mi was running, dragging Amaya behind her. She practically threw Amaya at the car as she got in the passenger seat and put the keys into the ignition for Amaya as she buckled her seat. The GPS was already navigating so all Amaya had to do was floor it.

 

They made it to the shoot exactly on time. Hye Mi escorted Amaya in, collected as all hell considering what just happened. They greeted the directors and crew with a smile and Amaya was taken back to a dressing room for hair and makeup.

 

“So, there is just one slight problem…” The director was addressing Hye Mi. She opened her mouth to ask what it could be when the opening of a door drew their attention. “Our male model is…”

 

“From Jellyfish. Not SM.” Hye Mi watched as Ravi and his manager entered the set. She smiled at them and then at the director, “It’s not a problem with us as long as it isn’t a problem with them. SM is very focused on creating more collaborations and strengthening the global K-pop brand right now.”

 

“I take it you’ve been double booked?” Ravi’s manager was addressing the director.

 

“Not exactly. More like, cross-booked. We do indeed have one female model and one male model,” He gestured to Ravi, who stood behind his manager, “But we intended to have both models from the same agency to not create any conflict.”

 

“Who’s the female model?” Ravi asked from behind his manager, refusing to go into hair and makeup until he knew.

 

“Amaya Serene.”

 

Ravi’s face twisted into a smile. “Well, I don’t have any problems with that! Hyung,” Ravi looked at his manager, pleading, “SM doesn’t have an issue with it. Why would we? It’s great exposure.” He leaned closer to his manager and whispered to him, “Hyung. She’s the girl I was talking about. Do me a solid.”

 

His manager laughed and shrugged. “Well, as long as you don’t mind me hanging around the set with you. It’s alright.”

 

Hye mi smiled, “I’ll be here too, director.”

 

The director looked nervous but smiled nonetheless. It was less conflict than he’d anticipated. So, he decided he would take it.

 

The idols had probably been in hair and makeup for a little over an hour before they were put into their outfits for the shoot and debriefed on the concept. It was a fragrance shoot and they would be shooting short videos as well as taking lots of pictures.

 

“Basically,” a stylist was talking to Maya as she carefully placed a golden circlet that looked like it had come straight out of lord of the rings on her head, “You are going to look like a Goddess and her consort, or a Goddess and her God. Whatever. We’re going for the whole magic heaven type vibe.”

 

“And her consort or god?” Amaya refrained from tilting her head with her question as the stylists arranged her accessories and dress. “I wasn’t aware there was even another model.”

 

The stylist arranging her shoes laughed. “Well surprise. Fair warning, he’s probably going to be shirtless.”

 

Amaya shrugged, “I’ve worked with shirtless models before. So, are we going for the “I’m better than everyone” goddess or the “I’m beautiful and sweet” goddess?”

 

“Just give ‘em both. They’ll tell you want they want eventually.” The stylist smiled and stepped back taking in her appearance. “Perfect. You truly look like a Goddess.”

 

Amaya smiled, “That’s only thanks to you.”

 

The stylist pointed to a mirror behind Amaya, “Go look!”

 

“I don’t like to look until I see the pictures.” Amaya smiled. “It’s weird. I know. Besides, I trust you.”

 

Ravi was styled and on set first. He was shirtless, like the stylist had warned, and he wore tight fitting jeans with no shoes. The real focus was on his face, he wore smeared black eyeliner with a swipe of silver underneath his lower lash line, his silver hair was styled in the perfect messy look, and we wore a silver circlet that looked very similar to Amaya’s gold, except that instead of intricate leaves his was wound of thorns. He stood easily in front of the cameras, giving off his best “God” feel as he was told to, while he took his solo shots waiting for Amaya’s stylists to finish. If he had known the cameras were still flashing when she walked into his range of view, he would have controlled his emotions better.

 

She looked ethereal. Her sliver hair cascaded in curls around her and a gold circlet sat on top her head. Her eyes were defined and heightened, a gold winged eye brought out the hazel in the green of her eyes and glitter fell perfectly around her lashes. She wore a light pink lip that made her look sweet but her eyes made her fierce. She wore a light blue dress that was reminiscent of ancient Greece and her arms were adorned with gold accessories from bracelets to intricate golden arm cuffs. Unlike Ravi, she wore shoes. Golden gladiator sandals that wrapped up her ankle and were exposed when the wind (well fan) hit her dress in the right place.

 

The director followed Ravi’s gaze, wondering what on earth could have made him go from looking like a god to looking like a puppy. He smirked. “Perfect! She’s ready! Amaya,” The director looked at Amaya who smiled in return, “This is Ravi; he’ll be the other model today.”


	31. The Shoot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the spam posts! wanted to get them all up before I lost power here in florida! (thanks Matthew -.-) 
> 
>  
> 
> More to come soon ^.^

Amaya’s eyes widened as she turned to look, for the first time, at who she’d be shooting with. Her face turned white for a second, and then pink when she noticed he was shirtless. “We’ve met.” Ravi grinned as he made his way over to his “goddess.” “It’s nice to see you again.”

 

Amaya’s blush deepened before she collected herself and tried to find a way out of her situation, “Yes, it’s great to see you again, Ravi!” She looked back at the director, “If you could give me just one second, I realized I forgot to tell my band mate something super important, I see you were in the middle of Ravi’s solo shoot anyway! I’ll really only be one second.” She bolted to her dressing room, grabbed her phone and dialed Lee rapidly.

 

Lee had, luckily, just finished a run though of her dance and stopped to drink some water when her phone rang.

 

“ _Lee, help_!” Amaya was frantic.

 

“Whoah. Chill. What?”

 

“I.. uh.. photo shoot.. god concept… other model… shirtless.”

 

Lee could really tell she was flustered, considering she couldn’t form sentences. “Maya chill. You’ve worked with tons of models from our agency. And most the time, they are shirtless. And god concept? Sounds cool. You can kill the goddess vibe thing.”

 

“No. Lee. It’s not just any model. It’s Ravi.”

 

“Like from VIXX?”

 

“Yes, like from VIXX. He’s shirtless, and I’m supposed to act like he’s my consort.”

 

“Hot. Send pictures.”

 

“What? Lee! I am seriously freaking out!”

 

“Well freak out when you get home after you’ve done your job. You’ll get over it in like five minutes of shooting. I’ve got to get back to dance practice. Send pics!”

 

_Click._ Amaya stared at her phone in disbelief. “Send pictures?” She scoffed, and put her phone away. She almost looked into the mirror but caught herself. “Right. This is work. I don’t want to see until I see the pictures. He is just the other model. This is just work. Freak out later.” She took a few deep breaths and concentrated on feeling like a goddess. She walked out of the dressing room composed and smiled at the director.

 

“Everything alright? I was just going to send someone to get you. We’re ready for the couple shots.”

 

Amaya flashed him another smile, “Everything is perfect. I just needed to tell Lee something is all, I’m ready when you are.” She turned to look at Ravi. His makeup was being touched up as he sat in a throne like chair that was big enough for two.

 

“Alright. For this first shot, I want Ravi in the chair, Amaya put your hand on his shoulder and—“

 

Amaya walked to the side Ravi was leaning closest too and put her hand on his shoulder. She looked into the camera with a fierce expression, as if to say that she was the one who really ruled. Ravi sprawled out on the throne but leaned into Amaya’s touch.

 

“Yes! Just like that. Perfect!” _click. Click._ “Now I want you both in the—“

 

Ravi grabbed Amaya’s arm and pulled her into his lap with one fluid motion. The camera clicked, perfectly catching the innocent surprise on Amaya’s face and the daring look on Ravi’s. She collected herself and leaned back into the throne. Allowing her legs to stay draped over Ravi. She relaxed, propped her head up on her elbow on one of the arms and smirked at the camera. Ravi propped his head up on the other arm and let his other hand rest on Amaya’s legs. Click. Amaya pulled herself up to a full seated position, crossed her legs, rested one arm comfortably on the arm and let her other hand rest in the empty space between her and Ravi, she looked to her right, over the arm of the chair. Ravi mirrored her on the left.

 

“Perfect.” Click. “Wait. Don’t move. Hold hands.” A blush ran through Amaya’s cheeks as Ravi’s hand fit over her’s in the center of the throne. _Click._ “Perfect. Now, Amaya, I need you to sit in Ravi’s lap again. But this time don’t look at him, look at the camera.” Amaya shook the blush off her cheeks and did as she was instructed. Ravi’s arms wrapped around her. “Good, Ravi, I need you to lean into her neck a little.”

 

The blush returned to her face as she could feel his breathing on her neck. _Click._ She composed herself and gave the camera a regal smirk. _Click._ She really was giving them both, the “I’m better than everyone” and the “I’m sweet and beautiful” vibes. She mentally shrugged it off. They’d decide what they wanted.

 

“Good! Now I want to take a few with Amaya in the chair and Ravi standing.” Amaya stood up to let Ravi up and then sat down in the center of the throne. She arranged her dress quickly so that it would flow correctly, set both hands in her lap and looked regally at the camera. Ravi leaned against the throne and looked up and out. _Click._ Amaya looked over at him as he stayed in the same position. _Click._ He kept his position and Amaya leaned into the arm he was leaning against and followed his gaze. _Click._ His fingers swept under her chin and he leaned down as he moved her head to look up at him. Blush stained her cheeks again. _Click._ Amaya pulled away, crossed her legs and looked in her opposite direction. Ravi sat on the arm of the chair and looked at the camera. _Click._ Amaya’s gaze returned to the camera, Ravi’s gaze shifted to her. _Click._ Ravi’s grabbed Amaya’s hand and looked at the camera again. _Click._ Amaya instinctively looked at Ravi, slightly pouting. He smirked back at her, intertwining his hands with hers and holding their hands up. _Click._ He Let go of her hand and sat on the floor in front of the throne. Amaya shifted to her right, rested one arm on the arm rest, crossed her legs, and let her other hand rest in between her body and Ravi. _Click._ She knew what the director wanted before he could speak.

 

“Hand.” Amaya spread out her fingers so that Ravi could easily reach up and place his between hers. They both gave their best model looks as the camera flashed.

 

“Perfect.” The director was beaming. They were probably the best couple he’d ever directed, and he’d directed real couples before. The shoot went on for a while and, as Lee predicted. Amaya got over the whole shirtless thing pretty quick, even when she had to film/shoot while being held in his arms. By the end of it, Ravi and Amaya were really happy to be finished.

 

“Well, that was fun.” Ravi grinned at Amaya. She laughed.

 

“Yeah, It kinda was.” There was a short silence.

 

“So, last time we met you told me you always like the rappers in a group. What’s the reasoning behind it?” Ravi grinned at her. It was a serious question.

 

“I’m jealous of them I guess.” She laughed, “I wish I could rap. It’s a skill I really admire.”

 

“I could teach you.” Ravi looked at her seriously. Amaya laughed as her stylist handed her phone to her.

 

“I think I would be a hopeless case!”

 

Ravi plucked the phone out of her hand and imputed his contact info. “I don’t think so at all. And I really mean it. Anytime we are both free. I’ll give you rap lessons.” He handed her back her phone after sending a text to himself so he could have her number. She smiled.

 

“Thanks.” She patted the phone in her hand as she bit her lip. “I’ll take you up on that offer.” She smiled and waved before being escorted back to the dressing room so she could change and get out of makeup and back to her apartment to debrief Lee.


	32. The First Rehearsal

Unfortunately, when Amaya got home Lee was already crashed out and Hye Mi sent Amaya to bed. The next morning Amaya was up and eating some yogurt in the living room when Hye mi came in to drop off the schedule and pick up Lee.

 

“Oh! You’re up!”

 

“Yeah, I’m not used to going to bed early.” Amaya smiled at Hye mi.

 

“Well here’s your schedule, you don’t have much today just practice on your solo and you’ll meet with the director of the shoot so you can see the finished product and so Akki Ho can pick up all the pictures from the shoot to add to your portfolio.” Amaya nodded.

 

“What about Lee?”

 

“Oh. She’s booked.” Hye mi grinned. “She got the part!”

 

“The lead?” Amaya grinned back, “She’s playing Anastasia?” Hye mi nodded. “Does she know?”

 

Hye mi laughed. “Probably not. She’ll find out soon though!”

 

“That’s great!” Amaya smiled, “I’m so happy for her!”

 

Hye mi nodded and went into Lee’s room to wake her up. “Lee.” Hye Mi shook her shoulder, “Come on, Lee. It’s time to get up. You have to go to rehearsal.”

 

Lee rolled over with a sleepy groan and sat up. She rubbed her eyes as she stumbled to her closet. “Guess I got the part. Whatever the part was.” She pulled on her favorite pair of yoga pants, a red off the shoulder shirt and grabbed her Nike sneakers. She grabbed her ready-to-go dance bag that had a change of clothes a towel and water bottle already packed in it and slung it over her shoulder.

 

Hye Mi was already out of the room and probably at the van by the time Lee stepped out of her room. Amaya handed her a fresh water bottle from the fridge, and a protein bar and smiled. “Break a leg at auditions. I’ll debrief you on my photo shoot yesterday tonight after you tell me about rehearsals. Deal?”

 

Lee smiled and took the water and food from her. “Thanks. And yeah, deal!” They both waved at each other and Lee made her way to the van. The drive to the theater was quiet and Lee spent most of the time messing with her hair or her nails, nervous, and anxious to know what part she got and who she’d be working with. When they reached the theater Lee took it all in with a smile. This was going to be her life for a while, and admittedly she was excited. They entered through backstage and the director came to meet them immediately. Lee bowed respectfully.

 

“Hello, sir!”

 

“Hello Aleera! I’m sure you must be very excited! Maybe even more then we are, considering you’re our lead!”

 

Lee’s eyes widened and she glanced at Hye mi and then looked at the director again. “Your lead?” Lee’s eyes looked over the director as she asked the words slowly. He nodded with a smile.

 

“Yes,” he chuckled slightly, “Maybe your manager forgot to mention it. You’re our Anastasia.” His smile grew and he grabbed her wrist and led her on stage. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to the cast, most of them are already here.”

 

Lee was still processing that she was the lead when she was nearly tackled by a cast member. She blinked and looked at the person hugging her and then smiled.

 

“Key! I didn’t know you’d be here!”

 

He grinned. “You either, girl!”

 

Lee smiled softly, “yeah. I’m playing Anastasia.”

 

His grin grew. “I’m playing Vladimir!” He pulled her into another quick hug. “We’ll get to spend a lot of time together, you and me. Well, and Leo.”

“Leo?” Lee raised her eyebrow at Key.

 

“Yeah. From VIXX. He’s playing the other lead, your lover boy.” He smirked at Lee.

 

“Dmitri?

 

“Yeah! Him!”

 

Lee laughed, trying to cover up her nervousness. And the director cleared his throat.

 

“Well, I see you know Kibum, come on, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the cast.”

 

As Lee was being introduced to the cast Leo arrived with his manager. His clothes were casual, wearing a simple t-shirt, pants and jacket, but he looked amazing. Most of the girls in the cast couldn’t take their eyes off of him. But his eyes were on Lee. She had finished introductions and was instructed to stretch and warm up, because they’d work on choreography and lines today. His eyes trailed up and down her body and he blushed slightly, taking in the way her shirt fell off her shoulder and how the yoga pants hugged her body. His eyes followed her movements as she went through her stretches, completely oblivious.

 

“You spying on my friend there, boy?” Key stood behind Leo and whispered over his shoulder. Leo jumped, turned bright red, and looked at Key, who gave him a stern look you’d expect from your mother. Leo’s face turned a darker shade of red as he dropped down to the floor and covered his face in his hands, embarrassed at being caught.

 

Lee looked over at the sound of Key scolding Leo and watched as he turned bright red and then dropped to the floor. Her eyes widened and she straightened up to go and see what was wrong. “Hey Leo,” She waved, he was still covering his face, “It’s really nice to see you again,” he nodded and waved, still covering his face, “but uhm, are you okay?” he nodded, still covering his head. Lee’s focus turned from looking concerned at Leo to looking sternly at Key. Her hands rested on her hips and she gave Key a hard look while she spoke, “Okay. What did you do to him?”

 

Key threw up his hands, trying to look innocent. “What? Me? Nothing. I don’t have any idea of what you are talking about. I didn’t do anything.” He swiftly backed away and joined some other cast members in stretching.

 

Lee shook her head, unconvinced. Her attention turned back to Leo and she squatted down next to him. “Hey, sorry about him.”

 

Leo slowly lifted his head and made eye contact with Lee. He blushed slightly and then brushed it off. He knew he wasn’t exactly acting cool, and this was not the way he wanted Lee to see him. He cleared his throat. “Nah, it’s fine. He just uhm… startled me is all.” He stood up, composing himself, and then smiled and offered Lee a hand to help her up. She took it with a smile and he pulled her up with ease. He opened his mouth to say more but was promptly cut off by the director calling everyone over. They all gathered and were told that they were going to first go through a quick walk through and practice of the choreography and then they were going to do a run though of the script. The choreography run through was a walk in the park for Lee, Leo, and Key but the rest of the cast definitely had a lot of learning to do. The choreographer smiled and told them all not to worry, that they had a long time to practice, and that tomorrow would be dedicated solely to choreography and music, they just wanted to see where everyone was at, skill wise. Then it was time to run through the script.

 

Lee smiled as she watched the little girl they got to play young Anastasia start the show and somehow she felt like she was watching the movie, only in Korean, as Leo and Key sang about their con and then soon it was her turn. All eyes were on her as she read her lines from the script and sang and danced without looking. The cast was captivated at her mastery of the songs and skill with the dances on their _first_ rehearsal, and they’d all be lying if they said they weren’t impressed with her acting or her Korean pronunciation. The run through went as well as it probably could have, although lee had to stop herself from laughing several times at the mispronunciation of Russian names, and overall the director was content. After the run through finished the director gave a big speech about how proud he was to have picked this cast and how he expected great things and how this production was going to be the most anticipated and biggest of the year.

 

_Oh yeah. It’s gonna be **huge**. No pressure, Lee. You’re just the lead. _ She thought to herself as she sighed and listened to the director go on about the production and then go into depth with the anticipated schedule. Lee was going to be _busy_ to say the least.


	33. Photo review and deals

Amaya finished her yogurt and changed soon after Lee left. She grabbed her dance bag and waited on the couch for Akki ho. It’d been a while since she’d seen him, and today he’d managing her while Hye mi managed Lee and did some paperwork, which honestly was probably a nice change for the two of them. When he arrived Maya greeted him with a hug and they chatted on their way to the studio.

 

“I’ll have the acoustic guitar today, right?”

 

“Yeah, we have an acoustic for you in the studio. Did you finally figure out that bridge part? Are you ready to record?”

 

Maya smiled, “Yeah, I didn’t realize writing a sad love song would be so hard….” Her smile faded a little, “It just got easier all of a sudden.”

 

Akki ho looked at her in the rear view mirror. “Any reason why?”

 

Maya hid her heartbreak in a scoff. “No!” she laughed, “It just clicked.”

“Uh huh.” Akki ho looked at her again before returning his attention fully to the road. He knew the cause. “Well, at least you’ll be able to start recording and work on staging and music video concepts.”

 

“Woah. I’m doing a solo video too...? I don’t really—“

 

“Don’t worry. Lee is also shooting a solo video for her dance.”

 

Amaya let out a breath of air, relieved. She didn’t really like doing music related things without Lee. A drama or an appearance or two was one thing, but she didn’t want to go solo. She wanted to be 43ver the flaw for well, forever.

 

When they arrived at the studio Amaya went straight to work, perfecting the bridge and then recording the song over and over until Amaya, the producer and her manager were all satisfied. It took _slightly_ longer than scheduled, but that just meant that they had to go straight to meet with the director from Amaya’s last photo shoot.

 

The director was grinning when they arrived. He handed Akki ho a binder full of pictures and escorted Amaya to a seat in front of a computer. “Every single shot turned out so well. We had a problem choosing which shots to go with.” He smiled at Amaya. “I’ll show you the video ads first.”

 

Amaya watched in amazement at the screen. That was her? The woman on the screen looked like a real life goddess, and the man embracing her… that was Ravi alright, Ravi times 10. Her cheeks flushed as she watched him embrace her in several ads. The director was still grinning. “And these are the print ads!”

 

The first picture was a solo shot of Maya. She stood in a field looking gentle and beautiful, a picture of the perfume bottle brilliantly displayed its name, “Gold”, and a message about the fragrance fitting “your shine.” The next was another solo shot. Amaya lounged in the throne, a smirk on her face. The “Gold” fragrance bottle was displayed in the corner and the message was fierce; “A fragrance worthy of a queen.”

The next ad was a couple shot. Amaya looked one way, and Ravi the other, both on the throne, holding hands in the middle. The “Gold” bottle was displayed on Maya’s side and the “Silver” on Ravi’s. Amaya flipped to the next picture. Amaya sat on the throne, she looked regal and at ease, but there was a fierceness to her eyes. Her legs were crossed, one hand rested on the armrest and her other laid by her side, her finger’s intertwined with Ravi’s. Ravi sat on the floor, casually sitting with one leg up. His right hand reached up to hold Amaya’s and his left rested on his left knee. His head was tilted slightly and he smirked at the camera. Amaya flipped to look at the last ad and her cheeks turned bright red. Ravi sat on the armrest of the throne, his right arm rested on the back of the chair and he held Amaya’s chin in his left hand. Her eyes poured into his, a faint blush tinted her cheeks; her lips were parted in surprise. Ravi’s face was dangerously close to hers, his eyes looked at her intently, and a smirk painted his lips. The picture seriously looked like he was about to kiss her.

“That one’s my favorite.”

 

Amaya turned her head to the sound of the new voice and came face to face with Ravi, who was leaning over her shoulder, looking at the picture. “I… uh…” Amaya blushed trying to find words and hide her surprise, “When did you get here?”

 

Ravi turned his face towards her and smiled. His face was dangerously close to hers again. “Only a few minutes ago.” He stood up straight and pulled up a chair next to Amaya. “My manager was picking up my portfolio pictures and I’m pretty much free today so I came along.”

 

“How can that be your favorite then?” Amaya tilted her head to look at him, “I mean, if you just got here you haven’t seen them all here let me—“ they both reached for the mouse. His hand covered hers, she blushed and stopped mid sentence. He smiled at her and started moving the mouse as she pulled her hand away.

 

“I’m pretty good with a computer so I can pull them up.” His eyes were on the computer screen, “but I know that one is going to be my favorite, because it was probably my favorite picture to shoot. The look on your face when I grabbed your chin was pretty amazing. As you can see.”

 

Ravi watched the ads and then clicked through the pictures Amaya just looked at and smiled. “You did pretty damn well.”

 

Amaya scoffed. “Yeah, well, I _actually_ model. You did pretty well though. You know, for a rapper.” She grinned at him.

 

“I wonder if miss model/singer here would do pretty well at rapping. You know, for a singer.” He grinned back, “I’ve got a free day today if you want a lesson.”

 

Amaya smiled. “Yeah, actually. I’d love that. I have a free day today too.”

 

“Alright but I have one condition.”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“You have to promise to go to myeongdong with me on Saturday.”

 

Amaya giggled. “Yeah alright sure.”

 

“I’m dead serious. Make sure you wear sunglasses and maybe a hat, cause we will be spending all day there.”

 

Amaya giggled again. “I already said yes, Ravi.” She looked at him carefully, “But I gotta wonder, what’s the obsession with Myeongdong?”

 

“I don’t get to go there often, and I don’t like to go alone.” Ravi half lied. He just wanted to take her on a date. He stood up from his chair and pulled Maya up from hers. “well, no sense in wasting time, lets go do that lesson.” Ravi grinned as he grabbed Maya’s hand and pulled her towards the door, stopping in front of their managers. He bowed to Akki ho. “I’m going to take Amaya to the studio to give her some rap lessons if that’s alright with you sir.”

 

“Actually, it’s not.” Akki ho looked Ravi up and down, “If you want to give her lessons you’ll have to do it at Amaya’s place. The SM studio is booked and I don’t really want her being seen going into Jellyfish’s studios with the recent scandals.” He turned to face Ravi’s manager, “I can take them to the apartments and be sure that he won’t be spotted going in if you’re alright with this whole thing.”

 

Ravi’s manager nodded. “He normally does what he wants anyway, so, if you can take care of him, that’s fine. He has a free schedule today anyway.”

 

“Alright then, you can come with us then Ravi.” Akki looked at Ravi up and down again. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Ravi’s hand, holding Amaya’s. “But you’ll have to let go of her hand.”

 

“ah…” Ravi let go of her hand pretending that he forgot he was holding it. Amaya blushed; she had actually forgotten that he was holding it. Akki ho nodded and led them to the car. Ravi was pretty stoked, he’d get to see where she lived and spend some more time with her, plus she’d agreed to go on a date. Amaya was excited too, but she was also nervous, she knew she wasn’t good at rapping so she just hoped that Ravi would be patient with her.


	34. Shots and Rap lessons pt 1

Once rehearsal finished, Lee started gathering her things when the director called everyone over again. He announced that they would all be going out for samgyeopsal (Korean bbq) and soju, and that it was on him. There was a chorus of cheers and Key slung his arm around Lee. “Ready for some fun?” He grinned at her.

 

Lee looked at her watch. “oh, no I just don’t think I have the time in my schedule… I mean…”

 

“Oh no. This is scheduled in.” Hye- mi appeared behind her as Leo came and stood next to Key.

 

“Great. That means your coming then!” Key grinned. Leo slowly removed Key’s arm off of Lee and pulled her towards himself. He took her bag and slung it over his shoulder with a smile.

 

“You can sit by me.” Leo watched as key’s face soured slightly. “After all, we are the leads and we need to be able to work comfortably together.”

 

Lee barely noticed. She was staring at Hye mi. “You mean. I am scheduled to go to this?”

 

Hye mi smiled. “Yes. And I trust your cast mates can get you back home safely so I’ll be going to the office. And you’ll be going to your dinner.”

 

“Traitor.” Lee muttered under her breath as Hye mi walked away. She turned to Leo with a sigh and a small smile. “Sitting next to you sounds great.”

 

Ravi entered the flat behind Maya, kicked off his shoes and closed the door behind him before gaping at the size of the apartment.

 

“Well, this is it!” Maya grinned as she lifted her hands up and gestured to the entirety of the living space. She started to walk towards the living room to give Ravi the tour but he was already looking around and opening doors.

 

“Personal reading room, sewing room, lee’s room, your room” He shot Amaya a grin before moving into the living room, “Living room, dining room, kitchen, ah, here we go, dance studio.” He turned to look at Maya, “Lets practice in here, it should echo so you can really hear your pronunciation. Acoustics should be perfect.”

 

Maya stared at ravi before gulping and following him in. “echos…” she cringed slightly. She _knew_ she was gonna be bad.

 

“So, we should start with something that’s already written, we can get to writing raps later, and something that is good and you could put a respectful artistic flare on, so, we’ll start with one of my raps.”

 

“I… uh… one of yours?” Amaya was obviously nervous as she stared at Ravi. He smiled reassuringly.

 

“Yeah, we can do a short one, pick one of our songs, and I’ll teach you.”

 

“But.. I’m not sure…”

 

“Don’t worry about it. But before we pick the rap we should do warm ups. So repeat after me.”

 

Ravi lead her through a series of Korean tongue twisters which she was, surprisingly, good at, and then they started to work on timing and rhythm, which she wasn’t bad at. It was when they started getting to infliction that Ravi, admittedly, started to laugh a little, and Maya didn’t exactly shine.

 

“Yah! Kim Won Shik!” Amaya’s voice echoed through the dance studio. Ravi’s laughter stopped immediately as Amaya’s face started to turn a tomato red. He thought his heart would beat out of his chest. He knew she was mad at him, and that his behavior had obviously bothered her. But she had just called him by his full name and for some reason that really resonated with him. His face broke into a grin.

 

“Say that again.”

 

“I…uh… I didn’t mean to yell…”

 

“Say it again. My name. I don’t care that you yelled. Just, say it again.”

 

“Kim Won Shik…” the name came out timidly as the redness faded from her face and Ravi’s face brightened, “Ravi, do you want me to call you Won Shik instead?”

 

“Yes.” He smiled, “but, not around my band mates, or Lee.” Amaya cocked her head to the side obviously confused; “I don’t normally like it when people call me Won Shik. But, I like it when you do, Maya.”

 

Amaya laughed. “You’re certainly different. You know that?”

 

“Yeah. Well, lets get back to your infliction, cause it stinks.”

 

“Yah, Kim Won Shik. That is no way to talk to someone who is trying to learn _earnestly.”_

Lee sat awkwardly next to Leo as Key grinned at her from across the table. Shot glasses were passed out and Lee was doing her best to avoid drinking any of the soju. Key eyed Lee’s empty glass as Leo flipped the meat on the grill in front of them. The director sat next to Key and Lee watched anxiously as the director filled up shot glasses proclaiming that they should “drink up drink up!” Lee prayed he’d ignore her empty shot glass as she grabbed a piece of kimchi with her chopsticks and popped it in her mouth. And while the director didn’t notice, Key did, and he was happy to point it out, loudly.

 

“Lee, you’re not drinking.”

 

“oh.. I”

 

“Ah! We can’t have that! Not our Anastasia! There’s plenty of soju to go around! Here!” The director held up a bottle as Lee politely nodded and held out her shot glass. Damn Korean manners. “Drink up! Drink up!” He grinned. Lee nodded, shot key a glare and politely looked away as she took her shot. She silently thanked Maya for the lesson in Korean drinking manners. “Oh our Dmitri as well! Here, here!” the director poured Leo a shot and he took it gracefully with a smile.

 

“One shot isn’t enough for our Anastasia!” Key grinned as he poured Lee a shot, “Here, have a drink from your dear oppa.”

 

Lee glared as Key poured her shot, “Oh, I didn’t realize Leo was pouring my drink, Unni.” She stuck her tongue out at him before reluctantly taking the shot.

 

Leo’s face was tinted with blush, “I.. I didn’t know you wanted me to pour you one.” He smiled as he poured her shot and Lee cursed herself before taking the shot. He didn’t have ill intentions. She glared at key again. But he did.

 

“Thanks, Leo.” She smiled, “Here, let me pour you one.” She poured him a shot, and then turned to key, “And let your dear dongsaeng pour you one as well, Key.” She filled his glass to the rim with a grin. Key took the shot and opened his mouth to say something smart when the director happily announced it was time to drinking games. An evil smile spread on Key’s face, and Leo looked up and smirked with determination. Lee cursed to herself. She was screwed.


	35. Shots and Rap lessons pt 2

Minho stood outside the door to the girl’s apartment. He knew Lee was out, and he also knew Maya was probably home and that he really needed to fix things. He’d ruined everything and he really _truly_ wanted to fix it. He wanted to have Maya back. He gathered his courage and knocked.

 

No answer. Maybe she wasn’t home. He turned to leave when he heard muted yelling though the door. Okay. She was definitely home. He knocked again. No answer. He waited a few minutes. He could hear the bass of a song he didn’t recognize. Maybe she was in the studio. He took a deep breath and turned the knob of the door. It was open. He knew he probably _shouldn’t_ go into the girl’s house without permission. But he _really_ needed to talk to Amaya, and he was fully prepared for her to chew him out. He walked in and kicked off his shoes as he made his way towards the music coming from the dance studio. He started to mentally prepare for Amaya to yell at him as he walked down the hallway. He could hear Amaya rapping, which was strange to hear, but what was even stranger was the voice that followed hers as the music stopped. The voice was deep and smooth, clearly the voice of a male rapper. Minho opened the door to the studio harder than he had planned, startled by the male’s voice.

 

Maya screamed and jumped back into the boy as the door flung open. The boy, who upon a quick inspection Minho recognized as the rapper from VIXX, caught her with grace and protectively pulled her behind him in one fluid motion. Maya clutched her hand to her chest and rested her hand on the boy’s shoulder as she looked at Minho.

 

“It’s okay Ravi. It’s just Minho. He just scared me.” Ravi lowered the arm he had held protectively in front of Amaya. He turned to her with a smile and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Minho stood in the doorway watching with disbelief.

 

“I can see, it’s Minho, May. I have eyes. You okay?”

 

Amaya smiled at him sweetly, “I’m fine.” Her expression hardened as she turned to look at Minho. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“I came to talk to you.” Minho tried to keep his voice even, “What are you doing?”

 

“Ravi is giving me a rap lesso—wait it doesn’t matter what I’m doing. Sunbae, you just busted into my dance studio in _my_ apartment.”

 

“You’ve told me to let myself in before.”

 

“Told being the operative word. Past tense.”

 

“You’re taking rap lessons? From Ravi of VIXX?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“You do know I’m a rapper too, right?”

 

“Of course I know that.”

 

“Then why, if you wanted to learn how to rap, wouldn’t you ask me? I mean, we’re in the same label, we’re close—“

 

Amaya cut him off abruptly. “No, sunbae. We aren’t close. Remember? We are just label mates. And we are both very busy people. So, since we aren’t close, why would I come to you, when a friend offered to teach me instead?”

 

“What do you mean we aren’t close? We used to be very close. I mean we even—“

 

“Used to be being the operative words.” Amaya’s stare was cold and hid her hurt. “We _were_ close. Before you so blatantly and _publicly_ labeled us “just label mates” Sunbae.” The word sunbae held none of the warmth it used to.

 

“Amaya I didn’t—“

 

“Oh, did I hear you wrong? Did all the articles get it wrong too?”

 

“No. I just… I didn’t..”

 

“Didn’t mean it? Well, it’s a little late for that. Now, if you don’t mind, can you see yourself out the same way you saw yourself in? I’m in the middle of a lesson.”

 

Minho stood in the door, his mouth agape. Amaya, fully aware of Minho’s continued presence turned back to Ravi.

 

“Sorry, Oppa. You were trying to tell me how to improve the rap.”

 

Ravi smiled and tried not to blush a little at Maya calling him oppa. “It’s no big, May. So, you delivered the last line of the first half really well. I think you like that line a little too much to be honest. Do you really think you’re insane?”

 

Amaya’s laughter filled the room and echoed down the hallway as Minho made his way to the door, still in shock. He tried to shake it off as he made his way back to his apartment. She’d get over it eventually he told himself. She’d forgive him. One of these days she’d hear him out. She had to.

 

Lee looked at the determined look on Leo’s and Key’s faces and gulped again. The director turned to look at lee and gasped. “Everyone, everyone!” he announced in Korean, “lets do the games in English so our Anastasia doesn’t have any problems following!”

 

Lee waved her hands frantically, “no, no!” her face started getting warm, “Please I can follow around in Korean, I don’t want to make it difficult for you all!” Lee spoke in Korean with a smile. She really didn’t want to be the cause of any problems. Lee felt the warmth leave her face as the director agreed. It was only after she started losing the games that she wished she’d agreed for them to be in Korean.

 

They started with a counting game first, where you were supposed to clap whenever there was a three, but Lee kept getting so excited that she knew the number that instead of clapping she’d shout it out. Luckily she only had to take 3 shots before they switched games. Unfortunately, the next game was another counting game, except it was all about strategy. You could say 3 numbers at a time and whoever said 31 was out. Key of course, did the math in his head every single time to try and get Lee out. 3 more shots for Lee. The next game was worse not because of Key, but because of Leo and his superhuman finger strength. Lee thought that the game would be easy, she just had to not be next to the person who flicked the tab off the cap, or flick it off herself. But no. Leo had to be competitive and really good at completely severing the tab from the soju bottle and making it go flying half way across the restaurant. 4 more shots for Lee.

 

At this point, 12 shots in, Lee was feeling surprisingly happy, and didn’t care as much about loosing. Probably because she was extremely drunk. Key snapped a picture of Lee leaning against Leo mid laughter and sent it to Jonghyun with the caption, “Better luck next time.”

 

Leo smiled at Lee as they made conversation as the games had, luckily, halted. “You know.” Lee grinned, “You’re really fuckin’ hot.”

 

Key’s chin practically hit the floor as confusion flooded Leo’s face.

 

“I’m what?”

 

“You’re hot. _Very_ attractive. Handsome. jal-seng-gyot-da.”

Leo began to blush. Taking in that she was complementing him. He opened his mouth to contest when Lee silenced him by kissing his cheek and then pulling back with a giggle.

 

Key stared at the two, his phone in his hands, staring at the picture he managed to snap of Lee kissing Leo. “There’s no way she’s gonna remember this.” His mouth turned up in an evil grin as he got his camera ready again.

 

Leo turned his face towards the giggling Lee, still in shock, blush rising through his face.

 

“Wow.” Lee smiled. “You’re really cute when you blush.” She leaned forward to kiss Leo again, this time on the mouth, while Key snapped pictures. And then, right before Lee’s lips touched Leo’s, she fell forward into Leo’s lap with a soft thud and a snore. She was dead asleep. Leo looked down at her in shock, slightly disappointed because, he _did_ want to kiss her, and Key erupted into laughter.

 

Leo smiled at the sleeping Lee and bushed hair away from her face before scooping her up into his arms. “I’m going to take our Anastasia home.” He announced before exiting the restaurant with Lee in his arms.

 

Amaya recited the rap again this time with music and attempting movement while rapping. Once again nailing(at least) the slow line. “Michil geot ga ta.” Dramatically Amaya held her hand to her head and winced in mock pain before going back into the second half of the rap with vigor. She drew out the last word of the rap so that, if someone were singing with her, they’d be singing over the end of it.

 

“Not bad for a singer.” Ravi half smirked half smiled at Amaya. She groaned and fell to the floor.

 

“I still suck.” She groaned putting her head into her hands. “I’m not good at this whole rapping thing.”

 

Ravi let out a deep chuckle as he sat on the floor next to her. He lifted her head out of her hands gently, pulling her chin up and forcing her to look at him in the face. “You don’t suck, May. This is just your first lesson. And, trust me, there will be many more to come, and you will become a great rapper, and a singer, and you dance. You’ll be a quadruple, no a centuple threat!”

 

Amaya smiled softly and rolled her eyes, “Oppa. You only named three ‘threats.’ What are the other two?”

 

“Acting and looks. You’re one gorgeous girl, May.”

 

Amaya blushed and searched her head for a way to change the subject. “When did you start calling me May?”

 

“When you got scared and hid behind me.”

 

“I did not hide—“ ravi silenced her with a raise of his eyebrow and she sighed in defeat, “Okay, I hid behind you. But you know by calling me May you’re essentially nicknaming a nickname.”

 

Ravi chuckled again. “That’s fine. No one else calls you it, just like no one else will call me Won Shik.”

 

“Ah. That. Should I keep calling you Oppa, or should I call you Won Shik-ah, or Shik-ah?”

 

Ravi smiled. “You can call me all of those. But around other people, maybe just Oppa or Ravi.”

 

“Won Shik oppa?” Ravi blushed and Amaya grinned. “You just blushed.”

 

“I did not.”

 

“You did. I saw it. That’s what I’m gonna call you. Won Shik oppa!” She looked at Ravi who blushed again. “oh!” she pointed at his cheek, “look there it is again, I see it!” She poked his cheek. He brushed her hand off.

 

“I am not.”

 

“You are too!” Amaya poked his cheek again, “right there!” He grabbed her hand and laced his fingers with hers. A blush rose to her cheeks.

 

“It must be hot in here, cause look.” He poked her cheek. “You’re blushing too, right there.”


	36. the aftermath

Somehow Leo managed to get Lee into his car without trouble and drive her to the SM apartments. She was asleep the entire time, but as soon as the car pulled into park outside the apartment building she was alive and full of energy.

 

“Oh wow! We’re home!” Lee grinned as she threw her seatbelt off and jumped out of the car. “Bet you can’t catch me!”

 

And she was off. Running at the speed of light and giggling like a two year old. To make matters worse on Leo, she decided to take the stairs. She was all grins and giggles as she flew up the stairs, leaving Leo in the dust as he ran after the drunk girl worried that she was going to collapse out of nowhere again. When she got to the apartment she unlocked the door with, surprising, no trouble at all. As she walked into the apartment Leo called out to her. She ignored him and went directly to the dance studio. She flung the door open and yelled, "Maya! I just had 12 shots and it was so awesome! I didn't know I can-" and before she could even finish her sentence she fell forward onto the floor with a hard thud and a snore.

 

Ravi looked over at Lee in shock. Impressed that she could open the door like that in her drunken state, and surprised that she could form a coherent sentence before falling forward on the floor like that.

Maya’s eyes widened and she was about to get up to check on her when she heard the snore and Leo softly saying, “is she dead?” Maya turned to look at Leo, saw the look on his face and erupted into laughter.

 

“She’s not dead. But she _is_ dead asleep. As in she will not be moving for a while. And I cannot pick her up and take her into her room. Because let me tell you that girl is heavy! Unless, of course you wanted me to drag her into her room, which probably wouldn’t be very good because—“ She was silenced by Leo picking up Lee with ease and threw her over his shoulder in a fireman carry. “Oh, well. I guess you have that handled. Her door is on the left.”

 

Leo nodded and went to go put her in her room. He stopped in his tracks in the doorway of the studio and turned around to look at Maya and Ravi. His mouth turned into a smirk and he raised his eyebrow. “Are you guys just holding hands while sitting in the middle of the floor?”

 

Ravi’s and Maya’s faces turned the color of fresh tomatoes as Leo looked at their intertwined hands. Amaya went to yank her hand away and shake her head. Ravi tightened his grip on her hand and pulled it into his lap. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Leo.”

 

“Oppa!” Maya whispered sternly at Ravi as he held her hand and smiled.

 

Leo just smirked and walked out of the studio with Lee. He found her room without much difficulty and tucked her into bed. He smiled at her as he moved some hair out of her face and then got up and looked around her room. He wandered around looking at the drawings on her walls, drawings of her costume designs of her group and drawings that were eerily similar to SHINee and U-KISS’s concepts videos. Honestly, he was very impressed at the work she put into it and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel proud and happy. As he went from looking at those to pictures of her and Maya as they traveled some parts of the world and making weird poses that made him grin. He looked over at her with a sigh and he walked out of her room closing the door quietly behind her. He didn’t want to leave but he knew it was time to go. And that went for Ravi too. He walked into the dance studio and rolled his eyes at Ravi, who was _still_ flirting with Amaya. He grabbed Ravi by the collar and pulled him up and away from Maya. Ravi turned to look at Leo dumbfounded, as Leo bowed to Amaya. “Sorry, I know you need your sleep and Ravi is keeping you up. We’ll be going now.” He smiled at the surprised Maya and dragged Ravi out of the room, ignoring the protesting ‘BUT HYUNG’s he could hear from Ravi.

 

The next morning Lee woke up with the headache from Hell, literally. She groaned as she sat up and looked over at her bedside table where her alarm clock rested. Next to it was a big bottle of water and Advil, which she immediately took and drank without a second thought. Then Maya walked in with a big bowl of chicken, "Oh, look who is awake," She said with a grin as she walked over and handed over the bowl of chicken to Lee.

 

Lee took it skeptically as she looked at Amaya, “who am I, Onew?”

 

Amaya laughed, “No. But trust me you need the grease for your hangover.” Lee mumbled under her breath as she started to devour the chicken. “So, you gonna drink like that again?” Lee shot death glares at her as she ate the chicken. “So, you ready to go to work at 11?”

 

Lee glanced at the clock. 10:30.”You didn’t wake me up earlier, why?” She started to panic.

 

“You needed your sleep. But hey, you’re lucky. Hye mi could have made it 10. And it’s just dance so you don’t have to do much to get ready.”


	37. Pre-date heart-to-heart

It was early in the morning and Amaya was tearing through her closet, throwing out things with groans and loud no’s and generally just a lot of frustration. She exited her room looking frazzled, still in her pajamas and yelled for Lee who groggily ran out of her room.

 

“Why? What? Is something wrong?”

 

“I don’t have anything to wear.”

 

“What?”

 

“I don’t have anything to wear. And I have to go to Myeongdong with Ravi today and—“

 

“Wait. You’re going on a date?”

 

“no. it’s not a date. We agreed to—“

 

“if it’s not a date why are you stressing about what to wear?”

 

“Well… I…”

 

“You like him.”

 

“I do not!”

 

“Oh, you so do.” Lee grinned. “Move over. I’ll help you pick out an outfit.” Amaya sighed in relief, partially because Lee was going to help, and partially because Lee _kind of_ dropped the subject of her _maybe_ liking Ravi. Amaya moved out of the way and followed Lee into the mess that was her room. Lee looked around and sighed. “You really are freaking out, huh?” Amaya nodded.

 

“Nothing is right.”

 

Lee laughed. “Oh, honey. I highly doubt that. You’re just nervous. Go do your hair and makeup. I’ll handle the clothes.” Amaya nodded and went into the bathroom to do as instructed. She put in her clear contacts, and styled her hair in loose natural waves before moving on to do her normal makeup, natural toned eye shadows and black winged eyeliner, while Lee searched for a suitable date-not-date outfit.

 

Amaya emerged from the bathroom delighted with what Lee was laid out on the bed for her. “Lee, this is perfect!” She grinned and scooped Lee up in a hug.

 

Lee laughed, “Of course it’s perfect. I picked it out. Now change, I’m gonna get some food.”

 

Amaya happily obliged and smiled in front of her mirror. It was amazing what a second person could do. She looked stylishly casual and she was certain that she’d be able to blend in, but still look super cute for Ravi. Lee styled her from head to toe perfectly. She sported distressed black skinny jeans, a tribal black and white tank top, a rich burgundy motto leather jacket, a silver clutch with a silver chain, and a black wide brimmed fedora. Amaya scooped up the black, heeled booties that Lee had set out for her and her cat eye sunglasses and set them by the door so they’d be ready when it was time to leave. She joined Lee in the kitchen and grinned as she grabbed a tea out of the fridge. “Thanks Lee. You’re a life saver.”

 

“Oh yes. I’m a regular hero. I picked out an outfit for your _not_ date with Ravi, the boy you _definitely_ don’t like, _at all_.” She rolled her eyes at Amaya as she munched on a granola bar. Maya laughed.

 

“Okay. So maybe I might like him a little bit.”

 

Lee almost spit out her granola bar. “Wait. Are you telling me right now that you, Amaya, that you, are admitting you might have feelings for someone?”

 

Amaya sighed. “Well, yeah. Last time I liked someone, I didn’t realize it until it was too late and then he went ahead and took my heart and tore it into a million pieces. So, I’d rather not make that mistake again.” She shrugged and took a gulp of her tea while looking at Lee, who was deep in thought. Lee didn’t know whether to plan to murder Minho again for causing that heartbreak, or to hug Maya now because she was thinking about it again. Maya smiled at her, fully aware of the thought process she was going through. “Don’t worry. I’m over it. Besides, things might be different this time.” Amaya looked at the floor with a smile, “Ravi is really sweet in ways that Minho didn’t really understand how to be. And he’s just… I don’t know. There’s just something about him that I really like.”

 

Lee smiled. “His abs maybe.” She joked. Amaya laughed and blushed slightly.

 

“Yeah, well, I like those too.” She turned to say something else to Lee when her phone started ringing. She glanced down and smiled, “It’s him. One sec.” Amaya answered the phone and held a short conversation before hanging up. “He’s here. What are you up to today when I’m gone?” Amaya took the last gulp of her tea before disposing of the bottle.

 

“Rehearsal. TV. Getting texts and pictures from you.” Lee smiled.

 

“You got it.” Amaya giggled. “Texts and pictures will be sent. I promise.”

 

“And try not to get caught by any fans!” Lee yelled out of the kitchen as Maya slipped on her shoes and grabbed her shades at the door.

 

“Got it, unni! Texts, pictures, don’t get caught! Bye! Have fun at rehearsal!”

 

“Have fun on your first date!” Lee yelled back as she heard the click of Amaya’s heels and the closing of the door.


	38. The Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for a long one, folks.

Amaya took a deep breath as she waited for the elevator. Lee’s words hung in her ears. “First date.” Was it really her first date? It was definitely her first date with Ravi but, had she been on a date before? She tried to rack her brain but shook her head when the elevator arrived. It didn’t really matter. She didn’t even know if this was a date. She shook her head again as she pressed the button for the lobby. It didn’t matter. Today was going to be fun. Today was a day to spend with Ravi because that’s what he wanted. Today… her thoughts stopped as the elevator doors opened and she saw Ravi waiting for her. His face lit up, and he pushed off of the chair he was leaning on to stand up straight. Today, he looked great. He wore black tight jeans and a loose fitting plain shirt with a distressed denim jacket, high-topped sneakers and a snap back. His sunglasses were in his hands so Amaya could look him directly in the eyes. He looked her up and down and mouthed a “wow.”

 

“You look great, May.” He grinned at her. She blushed.

 

“Thanks, oppa. You look pretty good yourself.” She motioned to the door, “So, should we get going?”

 

Ravi grinned and put on his shades. “Yes we should.” He took her hand in his and led her to the car. “But you should put those sunglasses on.” Amaya nodded and put her sunglasses on after getting into the car. They only drove for a short amount of time before Ravi parked the car, got out and opened Amaya’s door.

 

“Yah. Won Shik. You know we aren’t in Myeongdong yet right?”

 

Ravi grinned. “I know. We’re gonna take the subway.” Amaya laughed.

 

“Us? Ya…that’s not..”

 

“Smart? Probably not. But it’ll be fun and it’s been a really long time since I’ve been able to ride the subway. And _you_ have never been able to ride the Korean subway.”

 

Amaya shrugged. “Do you think people will recognize us?”

 

“I think if they did. They would think we just look a lot like ourselves. No one expects idols to take the subway.” He held out her hand to her, “Just trust me, okay?”

 

Amaya nodded and took his hand as he led the way. He handed her a t-money card to the subway and taught her how to use it and navigate through Seoul via the subway. Amaya found herself surprised by how clean the subway system was and found herself having a blast just being with Ravi. They wandered the underground shopping centers on the way to transfer lines, laughed a lot, copied the voices the subway announced the stops in and jokingly fought over seats, even though Ravi always relinquished his to Maya if she was without a seat. By the time they reached Myeongdong Amaya’s nerves were completely gone and she was just enjoying herself, and Ravi was smitten.

 

“Oh! This is our stop.” Ravi grinned as he pulled Amaya out of her seat and towards the door. He laced his fingers with hers and grinned. “I don’t want you to get lost now.” Amaya laughed and mimicked the voice on the subway as they waited for the doors to open. Ravi pulled her close to him with a grin as stepped out though the crowd of people getting in and off of the subway.

 

Ravi led Amaya out through the subway exit and into the streets of Myeongdong. Amaya looked around in amazement and Ravi silently cursed the sunglasses, upset he couldn’t see her eyes light up as she saw the bustling streets of Seoul for real, for the first time. “Daebak…” Amaya muttered looking at all the people, and street vendors, and giant department stores. Ravi laughed, and pulled her back towards him.

 

“It’s pretty cool, isn’t it?” Amaya nodded. “Come on, you’ve got to check out the street shops. That’s where the best and cheapest, stuff is.” Amaya turned to him with a grin and a nod.

 

“Please, lead the way. I am never one to say no to shopping.” Ravi grinned as he grabbed her hand again and led her to the heart of Myeongdong. They jumped from stall to stall, looking at souvenirs and trinkets, hats and accessories, and trying all sorts of various kinds of street foods. “Oh!” Amaya’s face lit up as she spotted a cute little clothing store among the street vendors, “Oppa, let’s go in there.”

 

Ravi looked at the little boutique and then at Maya. He sighed, it looked pretty girly, but there was no way he could say no to that face. Somehow, probably through Maya’s eclectic taste, he had managed to avoid the sparkly cute things that most girls obsessed over. Amaya watched his face as he mulled over the decision and decided to make sure he couldn’t say no. She put on a pout, wrapped her arm around his, and looked up at him over her sunglasses. “Come on. Won Shik Oppa, please?” he nodded in defeat and she pulled him into the shop.

 

A bell rang as they entered and an employee automatically chirped a greeting in Korean. Amaya removed her sunglasses and slipped them in her purse. The employee started to try and stammer a welcome in English, obviously flustered by the appearance of a foreigner. Amaya smiled as she started looking through the clothing racks and said a quick, “it’s okay; I speak Korean. And if I didn’t my oppa here does.” in Korean to reassure the poor girl.

 

“yah.” Ravi whispered to Amaya as she rummaged through the racks, “Why’d you take your sunglasses off? Someone will recognize you.”

 

Amaya smiled sweetly at him. “No they wont. A lot of people think all foreigners look the same. Besides, I can’t properly look at clothes inside with sunglasses on.” She looked at Ravi again over her shoulder and then turned completely around to look at him. “And you can’t either.” She reached up and pulled his sunglasses off.

 

“Yah. People will—“

 

“Just keep your head down if you’re so worried. But, I think, as you said earlier, they wont, they’ll just think you look a lot like yourself.” Amaya slipped his sunglasses into his front pocket and he blushed at the action. She turned back around and pulled out a shirt to look at it. “Whoa. This shirt is so cool!” It was a polka-dot button up shirt that was dark blue on one side and light blue on the other with the sleeves matching the opposite side’s color. Ravi blushed as soon as he saw it. “Look! It has a match!” Maya pulled out a shirt next to it that was the exact same but the colors were reversed. It was a couple shirt, but of course, that didn’t really click in Maya’s head. “That’s so cute! It has a match.” Amaya turned around with the match and held it up to Ravi. “Whoa. It would fit you perfectly!” She held the other shirt up to herself. “We should try them on!” She giggled.

Ravi looked at her stunned for a minute as she handed him the shirt and led him back towards the changing rooms. Amaya wanted to try on couple shirts with him. Was he dreaming? He didn’t think so. Was it slightly embarrassing? Yes. Was it secretly something he really wanted? Definitely. Amaya pushed Ravi into a changing room and hopped into the other. They both emerged at the same time and stood in front of the mirror together.

 

“Wow. You two make a really attractive couple!” The employee stood behind the two smiling. While they both blushed. Amaya opened her mouth to say something like “oh but we aren’t a couple” but was silenced by Ravi slinging his arm around her shoulders.

 

“Thank you.” He opened his phone and opened the camera app. “Can you take a picture for us?” The employee took the phone and nodded happily. Ravi turned to face her and pulled Amaya along with him. She snapped the first photo capturing Ravi smiling at the camera, arm around Amaya’s shoulders. One of Amaya’s arms rested on Ravi’s chest, and she looked up at him surprised. Ravi looked down at Amaya and smiled. “Look at the camera, May.” Amaya smiled in defeat as the employee snapped another picture. They both turned to face the camera and smiled and the employee took one more picture before handing it back to Ravi.

 

“Did anyone ever tell you, you look a lot like Ravi from Vixx?” The employee asked while handing him the phone. Ravi laughed nervously.

 

“Yeah, I get that a lot. We’ll take the shirts.” He smiled. And ushered Amaya back into the changing room and went into the other one himself. They changed quickly, and Ravi paid for the shirts before rushing Amaya out the door and pulling on his sunglasses. “I told you they’d recognize me!” Ravi whispered to Amaya as he pulled her along to look at more shops. She laughed as she put on her sunglasses.

 

“Maybe she wouldn’t have if you didn’t ask her to take a picture!” Ravi grinned.

 

“Maybe. But we looked too damn cute to not take a picture.” He wrapped his arm around her again and pulled her close while she blushed. “Are you hungry? Lets get some food. What do you want to eat?”

 

“hm…” Amaya placed a finger on her nose as she thought before looking up at him with a grin. “Samgyeopsal!”

 

He laughed. “Really?” She nodded eagerly. “Alright, samgyeopsal it is. Should we get soju too?”

 

“hmm. Should we?” Amaya grinned, as she wrapped her arm around Ravi’s waist so she could walk more comfortably with his arm around her shoulders. She could definitely get used to this whole date thing.

 

They found a restaurant without much difficultly and with a little convincing from Maya, they sat down and removed their sunglasses, but as per Ravi’s request kept their hats on. They ordered and were able to pretty much start cooking their meat right away.

 

“Let me see your phone.” Amaya held out her hand as Ravi flipped the meat.

 

“Why?” Ravi pulled it out of his pocket and began unlocking it anyway.

 

“I want to send the pictures that girl took to myself.”

 

He chuckled as he finished unlocking the phone and handed it to Maya. She looked down at his screen and blushed. “Yah. This is your wallpaper?” She held up the phone and pointed at the screen. The picture from the fragrance shoot where Ravi was nearly kissing Maya lit up the screen. His face turned a healthy shade of pink.

 

“I… uh…really like that picture.”

 

“Obviously.” Maya rolled her eyes as she turned the phone back around to face her and sent the photos to herself. She handed him back his phone with a smile. “Thanks, oppa.” His face was still tinted pink as he concentrated on cooking the meat. Amaya giggled as she pulled out her phone and saved the pictures she sent herself. She texted them to Lee, and then stealthily took a picture of the blushing Ravi cooking. _This whole date thing is actually pretty great! Xoxo_ , she captioned the text and then put her phone down on the table. “I’ll order a bottle of soju, since you’re almost done cooking. What flavor do you want to get?”

 

“Flavor?” Ravi scoffed. “I don’t drink the flavored soju.”

 

Amaya laughed. “Bull. The unflavored tastes like nail polish remover smells.” Amaya called over the nearest worker and ordered the grapefruit soju. Amaya poured the soju while ravi prepared a lettuce wrap of the samgyeopsal and various side dishes.

 

“Here, May.” He held out the lettuce wrap and Amaya reached out her hand to take it. He pulled back his hand and laughed. “No, you’ll make it fall apart. Open your mouth.” Amaya hesitated and blushed. “Just trust me. This is the best way to eat samgyeopsal.” Hesitantly, Amaya obliged. Ravi watched as her eyes widened as she ate.

 

“woah! Mashiseo!” Amaya grinned at Ravi who laughed.

 

“You know, it’s pretty funny that your reactions are always in Korean.”

 

“Well, you know, Ra—I mean Oppa. I’ve been living in Korea for a while now.” Amaya retorted, catching herself almost calling him Ravi in public.

 

“Nice catch there, May.” Ravi smirked.

 

“Shut up.” Maya retorted. Assembling a lettuce wrap. He opened his mouth, probably to say something smart and Maya shoved the wrap in his mouth. His face was priceless. Amaya whipped out her phone and took a picture before the shock wore off his face and started laughing.

 

“yah!” Ravi half yelled once he finished eating the food that had been shoved in his mouth. “Give me that phone!” Amaya held it as far away from him as possible while grinning and shaking her head. “I mean it, May! Delete that!”

 

“No way!” Amaya giggled shoving the phone in her back pocket. “I’m keeping it forever.” Ravi shot her a look. “Now eat up! Food’s gonna get cold!” Amaya giggled as she started eating her rice.

 

When they had finished eating they both went up to the counter to pay. Amaya pulled at Ravi’s arm trying to get him to let her pay and he kept shooting her a look and making a “tsk” noise every time she’d try and say something.

 

“But Oppa just le—“

 

“Shh. I’m paying.” Ravi smiled at the lady behind the counter and handed her his card. “Why don’t you want me to pay?”

 

“geu-nyang.”Amaya pouted as the “just because” rolled out of her mouth. Ravi scoffed.

 

“geu-nyang? Geu-nyang? Yah. That is not a reason.” He chuckled through his mini lecture and leaned against the counter and attempted to look sternly at Amaya.

 

“It’s just…You’ve already paid for everything today…” Amaya looked at the ground.

 

Ravi laughed and pulled her head up to look at him by her chin. “I know. I did that on purpose you know. I _like_ paying for you. It’s what a man is supposed to do. Okay?”

 

Amaya nodded and Ravi let go of her chin. He turned back to the counter where the lady handed him his card, and he signed electronically. “You two make a really great couple.” The lady smiled at Ravi and Maya. Maya blushed deeply and Ravi grinned.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“And your Korean is really good, Miss. I expected to hear a lot of English from you two but, it’s nearly all been in Korean. Maybe it’s because you have a Korean boyfriend?”

 

Amaya giggled. “Thanks. And yeah, maybe that’s why. My boyfriend just taught me _way_ too much!” Amaya knew it was too late to tell the lady that Ravi wasn’t exactly her boyfriend so she decided to play along. She linked on to Ravi’s arm as she said boyfriend and looked at him with a grin. He blushed.

 

“ah. But you know, Miss. You look really familiar…” The color in Amaya’s face drained a little. “Ah! That’s it! You look like Amaya from 43ver the Flaw!”

 

“43ver the what? I’m sorry I’ve never heard of them…” Amaya tried to play it off. And it worked. The lady smiled.

 

“Oh, they’re a really popular girl group! You should look them up sometime.”

 

“ah, neh. I will do that. Thanks!” Amaya bowed a goodbye and Ravi practically dragged her out of the restaurant and half way down the street, worried that the lady would realize who they actually are.

 

“May, you gotta be more careful.” Ravi had finally stopped dragging her, and they stood in the middle of the street. She looked up at him wide eyed for a moment, and he thought his heart would beat out of his chest. Her face changed into a soft smile.

 

“I don’t really see how I _wasn’t_ careful. She didn’t recognize me the whole time we were in there and then when I smiled at you suddenly I looked like me.”

 

“Maybe that’s it.”

 

“Smiling at you? Makes me recognizable?” Amaya scoffed. “Like what? I suddenly look like my lovesick character in my dra—“ Amaya stopped mid word. Her face flushed into a deep pink and she averted her eyes from Ravi’s to the ground. She pulled her sunglasses out of her purse and pulled them on as she cooled down. Ravi looked at her in awe. Did she just say what he thought she did? Was she admitting feelings for him? Was this date really working out that well for him? He knew she was oblivious, and that she had only ever had one kiss, and that was for her drama. And he knew that Americans tend to be more okay with physical contact, so handholding and arm linking was more innocent and could be misconstrued. But, did she really just compare the two of them, in real life, to her character and Minho’s character in her drama? She cleared her throat as she looked back up at Ravi.

 

“That’s ridiculous.” She lied. He could tell her tone of voice was off. She wasn’t ready to admit serious feelings yet. Ravi smiled at her. He could wait.

 

“Let’s just keep our sunglasses on, and get you home. It’s getting late.” He pulled his sunglasses on, wrapped his arm around her shoulders and started to guide her towards the subway. It was starting to get dark, so if they stayed out any longer, the sunglasses would be a dead giveaway that they were idols.


End file.
